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Silicon Times Report Issue 1233
Silicon Times Report
The Original Independent OnLine Magazine"
(Since 1987)
August 16, 1996 No.1233
Silicon Times Report International OnLine Magazine
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08/16/96 STR 1233 The Original Independent OnLine Magazine!
- CPU Industry Report - NET goes Sky High - Internet Blaster
- MS aids APPLE - Nobel Pirates? - QDeck "NO Buyout"
- StorageTek Probe - Corel SoftBank - Fire GL 3000
- The End of an Era - People Talking - Memory Lane
First U.S. DVD Factory
NET Addiction?
MS Responds to NS!
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Florida Lotto - LottoMan v1.35
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From the Editor's Desk...
In this issue, we present a rather biased but none the less truthful
look at the so-called Browser Wars. Its really not a war but an exercise in
true quality software production that touches all of us. The only difference
is Netscape has made no secret of their intentions. After our "Enough"
article reflecting our opinions relative to this "Browser War", this reporter
received a number of rather shameful hate E-Mails from folks "seemingly"
employed at Netscape (one even called himself a programmer for them). Or, so
their Email box addresses would indicate such. In any case, this week's
issue takes the entire thing into what we think is the proper perspective.
After all. as long as there is "healthy competition", the benefits for the
users will continue to evidence themsleves. In our opinion, Netscape is, at
this time, lagging far behind and because of this is literally "running
scared before the wind". Microsoft releases Internet Explorer 3.0, with its
integral family, (all free) and the Internet chokes hard with user
activity... getting IE3.0 and all its goodies. UUNet has apparent troubles
in keeping up or, was it another mail bomb sent out to sabotage the release
of IE3?? In any case it doesn't really matter. IE3 pulls have broken all
known records. Things are still quite busy at the MS server sites. But..
they're handling the worldwide rush to obtain a quality browser, IE 3.0.
Microsoft has released the "Browser of Browsers". Its ALL free too. No
nickel and diming the users to death with the plug-in parade. They're all
there just for the asking. You can't go wrong in getting, using and enjoying
the power of the NEW Internet Explorer, Version 3.0. Remember, its free. No
expiration dates, no lame duck features. Its all there and ready to serve.
After having experienced Netscape, in all its gory glory, I must say I am
still pleased with Internet Explorer 3.0 to no end. When I removed Netscape
from my system I found that URL.DLL was corrupt and had to be replaced.
Also, upon doing a search of my registry, I found numerous instances of
Netscape entries that the Netscape un-installer failed to remove. I've had
it with Netscape. The so-called Browser Wars are very much needed to ensure
top notch quality in the best of the browsers. Right now, the BEST is IE3
and I doubt the choice will change now that Netscape has stirred the pot one
time too many with its odd, lopsided comparasons. One can only imagine the
delights IE4, 5 or 6 will offer. Additionally, I must say I am so glad I
sold my Netscape holdings when I did.
Ralph...
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Ralph F. Mariano, Publisher - Editor
Dana P. Jacobson, Editor, Current Affairs
Section Editors
PC Section Mac Section Atari Section
R.F. Mariano J. Deegan D. P. Jacobson
Portables & Gaming Kid's Computing Corner
Marty Mankins Frank Sereno
STReport Staff Editors
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John Szczepanik Paul Guillot Joseph Mirando
Doyle Helms John Duckworth Jeff Coe
Steve Keipe Victor Mariano Melanie Bell
Jay Levy Jeff Kovach Marty Mankins
Carl Prehn Paul Charchian Vincent P. O'Hara
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David H. Mann Angelo Marasco Donna Lines
Ed Westhusing Glenwood Drake Vernon W.Smith
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STReport Headline News
LATE BREAKING INDUSTRY-WIDE NEWS
Weekly Happenings in the Computer World
Compiled by: Dana P. Jacobson
Research Warns of Net Addiction
A researcher at the University of Pittsburgh says surfing the Internet can be
as addictive as drugs, alcohol or gambling. A study of nearly 400 men and
women found Internet addiction hooked people into spending 40 hours or more a
week online, most often involved in role-playing games or engaging in chat
room discussions. "One 17-year-old straight-A teenaged boy was so addicted
to Internet activities," writes science reporter Ed Susman of United Press
International, "that his parents had to admit him son to a drug/alcohol
rehabilitation hospital for 10 days for treatment." In another case, a women
described by friends, family and children as "the perfect homemaker, wife and
mother" became so addicted to the Net she wouldn't cook, clean or do the
laundry and was neglecting her hildren and husband. "She was spending as
much as 12 hours a day talking to acquaintances on the Internet," writes
Susman. "Finally her husband said, 'Choose me or the computer.' She divorced
him."
In a presentation at the annual meeting of the American Psychological
Association in Toronto, Kimberly Young, assistant professor of psychology at
the University of Pittsburgh's Bradford campus, said she found:
ú 76 percent of the subjects in the study spend an average of 40 hours a
week on the Internet.
ú Of the 396 people who met Young's criteria for addicted internet users,
157 were men; 239 women.
ú The men were younger with an average age of 29; the women averaged 43
years of age.
The largest group of addicted Net users were people who were not working
outside the home, that is, homemakers, students and those who were disabled
or retired. 82 percent of the addicted users said they had slowly drifted
into their addictions. Says Young, "We discovered that the use of the
Internet can definitely disrupt one's academic, social, financial and
occupational life the same way other well-documented addictions like
pathological gambling, eating disorder and alcoholism can." And while
previous research has indicated that men are most likely to be affected by
technology-based addictions, Young said, "Our present results show that the
largest number of respondents who met this adapted criteria and were most
likely to develop an addiction to the Internet were middle-aged females and
those -- both men and women who were currently unemployed."
She added the condition should be recognized as a psychological disorder
especially in light of "a growing epidemic of Internet addiction users." UPI
says people were recruited into the study if they met four or more of the
criteria listed in advertisements in newspapers, flyers and in certain user
groups on the 'Net:
1. They feel preoccupied with the Internet, thinking about it while
off-line.
2. They feel a need to use the Internet with increasing amounts of time in
order to achieve satisfaction.
3. They have an inability to control their Internet use. Said Young, "Some
people would get up in the middle of the night to steal onto the Internet."
4. They feel restless or irritable when attempting to cut down or stop
Internet use.
5. They use the Internet as a way of escaping from problems or of relieving
a poor mood of feelings such as helplessness, guilt, anxiety or depression.
6. They lie to family members or friends to conceal the extent of
involvement with the Internet. (Young found cases of people who would report
that they were too sick to work so they could "play on the Internet." Others,
she said, would go into work early so they could use the company access to
the Internet.)
7. They jeopardize or risk the loss of significant relationship, job,
educational or career opportunity because of the Internet.
8. They keep returning even after spending an excessive amount of money on
online fees. (In the most extreme case in Young's study, one person was
running up a $1,400 a month Internet bill.)
9. They go through withdrawal when off-line, showing increased signs of
depression and anxiety.
10. They stay online longer than originally intended.
Study: Net Use Skyrocketing
Internet access in the United States and Canada climbed 50 percent in the six
month period between August/September 1995 and March/April 1996, finds a new
study released by Nielsen Media Research. Approximately 22 percent to 24
percent of people 16 years of age or older in the United States and Canada
now have access to the Internet, according to the study. Additionally, 15
percent to 17 percent of the study's sample used the Internet in the past six
months; 9 percent to 11 percent had used the Internet in the three months
prior to the August/September 1995 study.
"What we're seeing is that Internet access and use are becoming increasingly
mainstream," says David Harkness, senior vice president of business
development, for Nielsen Media Research. "Since we did the first study last
summer, it's clear that exposure to the Internet has increased dramatically.
Other media have certainly contributed to the greater awareness, which may
account for the new profile of Internet users." The study has a plus or
minus 1 percent margin of error. It was conducted by Neilsen Media Research
for CommerceNet, a consortium of more than 150 companies and organizations
that use the Internet for electronic commerce applications.
PC Usage Among Seniors Grows
Nine percent of people 65 or older now use a PC at home, up two percentage
points from 1994. That's the finding of a recent poll by the Times Mirror
Center for the People & the Press. "With plenty of time on their hands, and
more disposable income than any other age group, seniors are spending money
for on-line services and logging plenty of hours at the keyboard," writes
reporter Jon Auerbach in The Boston Globe. "Seniors spend an average of 12
hours a week in front of the screen, five hours more than teenagers,
according to research conducted by computer maker Packard Bell."
Auerbach says some elders are booting up to keep pace with techno-savvy
grandchildren, others embrace PCs because going on line can instantly ease
loneliness and still others "are shelling out a few thousand dollars for the
latest in computing power for the same reason as their teenage counterparts:
They've got to have what's hot." The Globe quotes analysts as saying online
services have been the biggest reason behind the rapid growth in the number
of elderly people with Pcs. "Connecting to a computer network populated by
millions of people," the paper writes, "has given senior citizens- especially
ones living alone -- a way to stave off loneliness and feel a part of the
world." Some of the most popular destinations for senior citizens are
Internet home pages that offer information about health care. "Similarly,"
says Auerbach, "residents in many retirement communities use PCs to publish
newsletters. Genealogy programs are also popular."
RSI May Pre-date Computers
While repetitive strain injuries often are called the computer-age epidemic,
research suggests RSI dates back to early human history. In fact, says
Allard Dembe of the University of Massachusetts Medical Center, Hippocrates
recorded the first case in Epidemics, when he described a workman whose hands
were paralyzed by twisting twigs. Dembe, who wrote "Occupation and Disease:
How social factors affect the conception of wok-related disorder," has told
writer Mara Bovsun of United Press International that over the centuries, RSI
has tormented bakers who put in long hours kneading bread, as well as metal
and textile workers, tailors, seamstresses and carpenters. "The Industrial
Revolution brought a dramatic increase in clerks who sat on high stools,
writing entries into ledgers," says Bovsun.
"The result was a new disease, recorded in 1830, called scriveners' palsy or
writers' cramp, which hit mostly people involved in industrial
communications. As today, the appearance of the malady led to products to
prevent it, such as mechanical pen holders, which would wrap around a finger,
allowing the writer a 'thumbs-free' implement." Dembe notes medical
journals of the time struggled to give names to these afflictions. Among some
40 different diseases described in scientific studies in the three decades
from 1830 to 1890 were "Hammerman's palsy," "milker's cramp," "sewing
spasm" and "tailor's cramp." The author says that with the advent of the
telegraph, a new condition became epidemic -- telegraphists' cramp, affecting
about 20 percent of telegraph operators, and in Great Britain, it became the
first chronic disorder to be compensable under Workmen's Compensation. Says
Dembe, "There's extremely good medical evidence to suggest that the kinds of
disorders plaguing writers and telegraphers in the 19th century are exactly
the same as the disorders that are being seen now."
Stockholm Meeting to Weigh Porn
The Net's global distribution of child pornography is expected to top the
issues discussed later this month at the world's first conference against
sexual exploitation of children opening in Stockholm. "The Internet is like
heaven for the pedophile," said U.S. police officer Toby Tyler, whose child
abuse lectures are heard at the FBI academy. "As far as our ability to
restrict the distribution of child pornography and stop the sexual
exploitation of children on the Internet ... it's not something that can be
done." Reporting from Stockholm, writer Abigail Schmelz of the Reuter News
Service says campaigners are concerned that unless action is taken to stamp
out the Internet's distribution of child porn -- whether it features real
children or just computer generated images -- "it could spark greater demand
for child pornography."
Tyler told the wire service the Internet has ended the days when pedophiles
had to make costly cross-border runs to buy child pornography in countries
where laws were laxer and penalties lighter. Now, he says, they can obtain
and distribute films and photos from their own homes on the Internet with
little risk of capture. Of course, not everyone agrees that attempting to
regulate the Internet is the right move. "Some advocates say the Internet
represents free speech," says Schmelz. "Others argue that the distribution of
child pornography on the Internet is not that widespread." But Margaret
Healy from Bangkok-based End Child Prostitution in Asian Tourism says in a
report prepared for the five-day Stockholm conference, which opens Aug. 27,
that the regulation of child pornography on computers presents special
challenges and called on governments to fund better training.
Man Held for Net Solicitation
A 35-year-old North Merick, New York, man has been charged with using a
commercial online service to lure a 14-year-old boy into an illicit sexual
encounter. Suffolk County police told United Press International they also
are investigating whether the suspect victimized any other children through
the service, which they identified as Virginia-based America Online. The
wire service says Charles Tuzzolo is accused of striking up a relationship
with the boy by talking to him through one of the system's chat rooms, then
allegedly arranging a liaison with the boy. Police spokeswoman Mary Baron
told UPI the suspect reportedly went to the youth's house while the teen's
parents were away.
The boy told his mother about the encounter, and she contacted police earlier
this month. Says UPI, "Detectives tracked down the computer screen name,
'N.Y. Male 29,' which the boy said the man used in their online conversations
and which officers were able to link to Tuzzolo." Police said Tuzzolo -- who
could face one to four years in prison, if convicted -- has been an America
Online subscriber since 1995 and used numerous screen names, including "Matt
12581," "Carny 17," and "Chassjay." Said Baron, "Detectives are asking
anyone if they've had any contact with the suspect. They're trying to find
out if there are any other victims out there." Police asked anyone with
information to call 516/854-8652.
Singapore Steps Up Net Block
Starting next month, the some 100,000 Net surfers in Singapore will find
their access to the Internet's World Wide Web filtered by the government.
"On Sept. 15, Netizens of the island state reputed for its strict censorship
laws will have to link their home computers withproxy servers that will limit
their access to cyberspace," the Reuter News Service reports. These "proxy
servers" store often-accessed material locally. "In the Singapore system,"
says the news service, "they will check a request for access to an Internet
site against a list of banned ones. If the site requested is banned, the
proxy server will deny access." A spokesman for the Singapore Broadcasting
Authority, which is in charge of implementing the new Internet laws, told the
wire service the state's three Internet service providers -- Pacific
Internet, SingNet and CyberWay -- will have to ensure that all their
subscribers are linked to the proxy servers, special computers that will
block access to sites the Singapore government deems objectionable.
Added the spokesman, "The proxy servers will provide us with the most
efficient method of assessing often accessed material and blocking out
objectionable sites." Last March, Singapore Information Minister George Yeo
said the government planned to police the Net to check abuses such as
pornography, hate literature and criminal activities, characterizing the move
as an "anti-pollution measure in cyberspace." Reuters says the Net
censorship rules also include "the thornier issues of religion and politics,"
observing the regulations have stirred some protest in cyberspace levelled
chiefly at censorship rules on politics. For instance, journalist Koh Buck
Song wrote in a Straits Times newspaper column recently, "Few would argue
about hindering a child's access to say, amoral sites such as Playboy, or
blocking the stoking of civil unrest over racial or religious intolerance. It
is in the third area of political control that most Netters' unhappiness
centers." Koh said the rules could be seen as denying citizens a means to
criticize the government. Reuters says the rules also cover Singapore
Internet groups that discuss religion and politics, groups that will have to
register with the SBA and follow rules that will bar material deemed likely
to inflame racial or rligious sentiment.
Microsoft Quietly Aids Apple
What is being characterized as a quiet but ambitious effort has been launched
by Microsoft Corp. to help small software companies write Internet programs
for rival Apple Computer Inc. "The unusual effort," writes reporter Lee
Gomes in The Wall Street Journal this morning, "is designed to boost Apple's
efforts in the Internet arena, an area Apple has said is crucial to its
efforts to save itself." Gomes reports Microsoft officials say the Redmond,
Washington, software giant is helping Apple "in part because of concerns
that antitrust challenges to Microsoft's dominant position in the computer
industry might increase if Apple goes out of business." The effort,
directed by a Microsoft unit in San Jose, California, will cost millions of
dollars. The Journal quotes people familiar with the project as saying the
unit is expected to eventually have 60 employees, mostly long-time developers
of software for Apple's Macintosh operating system.
"What's different about the new campaign," says Gomes, "is that Microsoft for
the first time is telling programmers they're free to ignore Microsoft's
flagship Windows operating system, and instead write only for the Mac, using
all-Apple software." (Usually Microsoft requires independent developers
working with the company to write software for Windows as well as for the Mac
or other systems.) The paper says Microsoft apparently hopes the innovative
tradition of small Mac programmers will create exciting Internet programs
that will keep people attracted to the Mac. "The attempt to help Apple
contrasts with Microsoft's historic targeting of the Mac as its principal
enemy," Gomes comments. "To some degree, that reflects the two companies
diverging fortunes: Apple, analysts say, no longer represents a significant
threat to Windows, which runs about 80 percent of the world's personal
computers." The Journal says the San Jose unit actually was set up last
year, but only came to light recently when it sponsored a booth at last
week's MacWorld trade show. The unit "has told Macintosh software companies
that it stands ready to help them in numerous ways, possibly including
no-strings-attached cash grants of as much as $100,000," Gomes writes. "It
has also helped start the Macintosh Internet Developers Association, a trade
group."
Q-Deck Denies Buyout Reports
Software publisher Quarterdeck Corp. is dismissing as "rumors based on
nothing" a report in Business Week that it might be acquired by anti-virus
specialist McAfee Associates Inc. The magazine's Aug. 19 issue includes a
report saying some investment managers are buying stock in the Marina Del
Rey, Calif.,-based Quarterdeck onthe expectation McAfee will launch a bid for
the company. However, a spokeswoman told the Reuter News Service, "These
are a lot of rumors that are based on nothing. Absolute rumors." Meanwhile, a
McAfee spokesman declined to comment on the subject. At the same time, the
wire service reports Laidlaw & Co. analyst Tarun Chandra wrote in a research
note, "In our opinion, there is less than 50 percent chance of McAfee making
a bid for (Quarterdeck). However, the stock is in play now and one can
probably see a sharp move into the $10-$12 area." As reported, McAfee last
spring launched an ill-fated, $1 billion bid for Cheyenne Software Inc., but
abandoned the effort after Cheyenne's continued resistance to the proposal.
Reggie Jackson Joins Memory Firm
Computer memory products maker Viking Components has hired Hall of Fame
baseball player Reggie Jackson as its director of new business development.
The company, based in Laguna Hills, California, says Jackson will meet with
customers, appear in ads and make personal appearances. "Not only is Reggie
Jackson one of the most recognizable personalities in the world," says Glenn
McCusker, Viking's president and CEO, "he has also been tremendously
successful outside of baseball in the world of business. We are confident
that Reggie's business skills and winning attitude will score big, both with
our customers and Viking employees. We are thrilled to have Reggie on our
team."
During his career, Jackson has had affiliations with a diverse range of
companies, including Rawlings Sporting Goods, Japanese electronics giant
Matsushita, Electronic Arts, Upper Deck Co. and The New York Yankees, as well
as the Children's Miracle Network, a non-profit organization. "After many
years working in diverse business environments, I have found a home with
Viking Components," says Jackson. "Viking is a young, dynamic company on the
cutting edge of computer technology where my corporate contacts and business
skills count as much as my 563 career home runs."
First U.S. DVD Factory Planned
Plans have been announced for the first facility in the United States
dedicated solely to the manufacture of the new high-capacity DVD format discs
for movies, computer software and music. Matsushita Electric Industrial Co.
Ltd. of Osaka, Japan, says its new DVD disc manufacturing operation,
Panasonic Disc Services Corporation (PDSC), will be located in Torrance,
California. The plant is scheduled to begin production in 1997. The
facility, which will represent an investment of approximately $25 million,
will focus on mastering and replicating discs to support the launch of DVD
players and DVD-ROM products. The company -- which projects an initial
monthly production capacity of 600,000 discs, eventually increasing to 2
million monthly units -- says it will also provide a working disc production
environment to help accelerate the development of entertainment and computer
DVD software. Manufacturing will take place within an already existing
building, which Matsushita will alter for its specific requirements. "By
establishing in California the very first United States factory that will
operate exclusively to produce DVD discs, Matsushita will be well positioned
to quickly and efficiently supply our U.S. entertainment and computer
industry customers," says Ronald Richard, vice president of planning,
technology and public affairs for Matsushita Electric Corporation of America.
Samsung to Launch Notebook PC
South Korean chipmaker Samsung Electronics Co. is set to introduce a notebook
PC under its own brand name in Japan later this year. Company officials told
the Kyodo Japanese news service Samsung hopes to put the machine on sale by
the Christmas shopping season. "While details of the machine have yet to be
decided," Kyodo adds, "it will be IBM-compatible and have the Windows 95
operating system, a state-of-the-art central processing unit, and a large
liquid crystal display. Samsung will produce the PCs in South Korea and ship
them to Japan." Kyodo notes Samsung has captured some 40 percent of the PC
market in South Korea with its "Sense" line of computers. Models in the Sense
series have 12.1-inch and other large LCDs.
Microsoft Has Enhanced Browser
Squarely targeting Netscape Corp.'s Navigator Web browser, Microsoft Corp.
has released Microsoft Internet Explorer 3.0. Microsoft Internet Explorer
3.0 is available for download at no charge from Microsoft's Web site
(http://www.microsoft.com/ie/). To encourage users to try the software,
Microsoft is offering limited time free access to various Web content,
including ESPNET SportsZone and The Wall Street Journal Interactive Edition
(connect charges may apply), and exclusive access to content on sites such as
Hollywood Online.
"Microsoft Internet Explore 3.0 brings users a superior way to experience all
of the exciting, dynamic content on the Web and provides a launch point for
industry innovation," says Bill Gates, Microsoft's chairman and CEO. But
Microsoft has a long way to go before it can claim to dominate the Web
browser market. Internet Explorer has 3 percent to 10 percent of the market,
according to various industry estimates. Netscape Navigator has an estimated
70 percent to 80 percent market share. Microsoft Internet Explorer will be
distributed by major online services and Internet service providers (ISPs)
worldwide, including CompuServe Inc.
Acer to Offer New Fall Line
A fall line of new PCs intended to better fit in with other home electronics
products is being unveiled by Acer America Corp., the company that enlivened
PC design last year with models that were black and dark green instead of
beige. Business writer Evan Ramstad of The Associated Press says the new PCs
start up in just a few seconds and run without the fan and whirring disk
drive noises that other PCs have. They also have telephone receivers that can
be cradled on arm rests mounted to the monitor.
"The ideas," says Ramstad, "will help Acer's Aspire line stand out further
from competitors who are also trying to make PCs more like stereos or VCRs,"
noting that both Compaq Computer Corp. and Packard Bell Electronics Inc. have
added push-button controls to play CDs, look at faxes or check phone messages
on their new models. AP says Acer will continue to offer its new Aspire PCs
in the "charcoal" and "emerald" colors it started to use last year, with
prices ranging from $1,500 to $3,000 without monitors.
The new models all will have an Acer-designed "quick start" procedure that
gets the computer going in just four seconds instead of a "boot-up" that
takes a minute or two. "And," says Ramstad, "though many people tend to put
the low whir of a computer out of their mind, a side-by-side comparison of
Acer's new models with its old one demonstrates a noticeable drop in noise
leve. That advance, achieved primarily through work on the casing and fan,
was driven by the company's observation that stereos and other products run
much more quietly."
The wire service says Acer has divided its models into three segments:
ú One aimed at people who need a PC for general information and
communications.
ú Another for people who have a home office and want more productivity
software, and another aimed at game players and others willing to pay more
for extra performance.
ú The third, where models cost $2,500 to $3,000, include a joystick for
playing computer games and sub-woofer speaker for better sound.
Professor Sues Feds Over Encryption
A suit has been brought against the federal government by an Ohio law
professor who contends current laws restricting export of powerful encryption
technologies violate his right to free speech and academic independence.
Reporting from Cleveland, Interactive Week Online says Case Western
University professor Peter D. Junger teaches a course on computer-related law
and "since the course touches on encryption, Junger includes an examination
of several publicly available encryption algorithms as part of his
instruction."
Writes IWO reporter Will Rodger, "These short sections of computer code,
though widely available worldwide, force Junger to apply for a license to
discuss cryptography with foreign students in his class and constitute an
impermissible prior restraint on his First Amendment rights, the complaint
asserts."
Rodger notes court rulings have found that prior restraint -- that is,
forbidding speech before it is actually uttered -- is seldom constitutional
and must meet strict standards before it can be permitted under the
constitution. Junger is asking the court to forbid federal officials from
restricting his ability to discuss on classified encryption technology with
anyone worldwide or to publish that information freely. Rodger notes the
suit, filed in U.S. District Court in Cleveland, now joins two other ongoing
cases challenging the legitimacy of the encryption export restrictions.
Justice Probes IBM-StorageTek Plan
An agreement between IBM and Storage Technology Corp. is being investigated
by the U.S. Justice Department to see whether it hinders competition in the
market for mainframe computer data storage devices. Business writer Rob Wells
of The Associated Press reports the department's antitrust division has asked
the two companies to turn over documents following their June 10 pact by
which IBM agreed to resell StorageTek subsystems for storing data processed
by large computers, such as mainframes. The firms have received civil
investigative demads -- the civil equivalent of a subpoena -- from the
department. IBM spokesman Cary B. Ziter says the companies are cooperating
with the Justice investigation, adding, "In a broad sense what the government
is trying to do is find out about the deal. Certainly, IBM believes that this
is an ... agreement between IBM and StorgeTek that is not in conflict with
the antitrust laws."
AP says the agreement made IBM the main distributor of StorageTek's products,
though financial terms were not disclosed. "StorageTek's Iceberg, Kodiak and
Arctic Fox systems are available to IBM to resell under its own names," AP
reports. "The companies said they plan to integrate IBM technology into
StorageTek products over time. IBM also will pay for future enhancements to
the StorageTek products."
Net Name Giver Starts New Policy
The company that assigns "domain names" for Internet sites has issued a new
policy for resolving disputes over addresses. Network Solutions Inc., which
hands out the addresses under an agreement with the National Science
Foundation, promises to shut down a site within 90 days if someone holding a
registered trademark to the site's name makes a challenge. Writer Aaron
Pressman of the Reuter News Service says Network Solutions hopes "to
extricate itself from a growing legal quagmire in cyberspace," but notes too
that trademark attorneys and Internet specialists say the new policy will do
little to quell the emerging controversy. "Such disputes are occurring with
increasing frequency," Pressman points out, "usually when a trademark holder
discovers that someone else is using their trademark as the name of an
Internet site."
Recently, for instance, First Brands Inc., which manufactures Glad trash
bags, filed suit last month against a company operating an Internet site
called glad.com, saying it wanted to set up its own site with the name.
Attorneys tell Reuters the new Network Solutions solution actually relies too
heavily on registered trademarks, while ignoring other forms of legally
recognized trademarks. Says Chicago lawyer David Maher, who also co-chairs
the International Trademark Association's Internet issues committee, "I am
really flabbergasted that they would put a band-aid on what to me looks like
a gaping wound. It doesn't solve the basic problem. It gives all the rights
to the entity that has a U.S. or foreign trademark registration, totally
ignoring common law trademark rights." And Shari Steel, a staff attorney at
the Electronic Frontier Foundation, told the wire service there is perhaps a
more straightforward solution. Currently, all names must end with a one of a
few three letter designations, including "com" for private sites, "gov" for
government sites and "edu" for sites run by schools, Steel pointed out. Says
Steel, "There ought to be more top-level domains. That would be more like the
real world where one word can be used in a variety of contexts." She added
EFF may file a lawsuit challenging the current name dispute policy.
Fujitsu Wins Flat Screen Patent
U.S. patent rights for plasma-display screens that allow for thinner
big-screen televisions have been won by Fujitsu Ltd., one of Japan's biggest
computer makers. Reporting from Tokyo, The Associated Press says Fujitsu got
U.S. patents for the use of plasma-displays in color televisions late last
month, and expects to obtain patents for the manufacturing process by the end
of this year. It also expects to obtain Japanese patents around the end of
the year," AP says. Fujitsu officials told the wire service the company will
license its version of the plasma screens, which use alternating current,
adding that method gives more precise, full-color images than other products
that use direct current.
Software Firms Battle in Court
CyberMedia, publisher of First Aid 95, a Windows utility program, says it has
won a major battle in its product packaging lawsuit against Vertisoft Systems
Inc., recently acquired by Quarterdeck Corp. of Marina del Rey, California.
According to Santa Monica, California-based CyberMedia, the court issued a
preliminary injunction against Vertisoft, barring Vertisoft from making
certain claims in a comparison chart on its Fix-it product boxes, promotional
materials and advertisements. CyberMedia sued Vertisoft on July 19,
claiming that Vertisoft made false and misleading statements concerning First
Aid 95 Deluxe on the product packaging and promotional materials for
Vertisoft's newly released product, Fix-it. On that date, U.S. District Judge
Saundra B. Armstrong agreed with CyberMedia and issued a temporary
restraining order ordering Vertisoft to cover the statements with a sticker
before shipping any products, promotional materials or advertisements to
distributors or retail stores.
CyberMedia notes that the court's July 31 ruling turns the temporary
restraining order into a preliminary injuncton. While a temporary restraining
order lasts only 10 to 20 days, a preliminary injunction lasts through trial.
Since no trial date has been set in the case, the court's order against
Vertisoft will last indefinitely, says CyberMedia. In a separate ruling, the
court rejected Vertisoft's motion for a preliminary injunction against
CyberMedia, in which Vertisoft charged that CyberMedia's packaging also
contained false and misleading statements. "Judge Armstrong carefully
analyzed the product packaging and after substantial consideration she
determined that Vertisoft was not in a position to credibly attack the
accuracy or quality of CyberMedia's product packaging," says Claude M. Stern
of Fenwick & West LLP, CyberMedia's legal counsel. "We successfully stopped
Vertisoft's misleading advertising claims and defended the claims on the
First Aid box," adds CyberMedia's president and CEO, Unni Warrier. "We are
pleased that our reputation for delivering the best possible solution to
personal computer problems has prevailed."
Computer Business Services Fined
A $5 million fine is being paid by a Sheridan, Indiana, company that promoted
home computer business opportunities in order to settle Federal Trade
Commission charges that it used false and misleading advertisements.
Computer Business Services Inc. also has pledged it will not misrepresent the
success rates or profitability of its clients, says Associated Press writer
Paul Shepard in a report from Washington. AP says the $5 million payment is
the largest amount ever collected by the FTC on behalf of a company's
customers prior to filing a formal administrative or court complaint.
CBSI did not admit any wrongdoing in the settlement. In fact, CBSI President
Andrew Douglass said, "Taking on the federal bureaucracy would have meant a
fight that would have distracted our attention." AP notes, "CBSI
advertisements in newspapers and on the Internet claimed that investors could
earn $4,000 monthly by buying computer hardware. A majority of investors
never earned te promised profits or even recouped their initial investment,
FTC officials said." The FTC says CBSI has sold about 15,000 computer
packages since 1991.
Nobel Institute Accused of Piracy
Stockholm's prestigious Karolinska Institute, which awards the Nobel Prize
for medicine, is being accused of software piracy. The institute has been
named in a $1.5 million lawsuit filed by computer company Eurodex, hich
contends Karolinska used pirated copies of StatView, a statistical package
for analysis to which Eurodex holds the exclusive distribution rights for
Scandinavia. The Reuter News Service says the U.S.-based business Software
Alliance also has filed a police report on the alleged misuse of software
from member companies such as Microsoft and Adobe.
Eurodex's managing director Deniz Ozen told the wire service the institute
bought 18 StatView licenses, each costing about $1,000, but he believed the
package was being used by up to 1,500 computers. "This has been going on for
about four or five years," he said, "but in the end we could just not cope
with the fact there were a lot of users calling us for help and support."
Ozen added Eurodex had reported the matter to the police who checked 10
percent of the computers in a lightning raid on the Stockholm-based institute
last year. StatView was installed on about 90 of 251 computers.
But Ozen said some of the computers were also used as servers for the
network, so it was possible that all 1,500 computers at the institute could
be using the package. "The Business Software Alliance was also considering
taking action against the Karolinska Institute after allegedly discovering
from the information gleaned in the police raid that some of its companies'
packages were overused," Reuters reported. "The group's lawyer, Agne
Lindberg, said the group has filed a police report, but was still undecided
about whether to take action against the institute."
Fire GL 3000 STR Focus
DIAMOND MULTIMEDIA'S FIRE GL 3000 ACCELERATOR
ADDS REAL-TIME HARDWARE TEXTURE MAPPING TO
PROFESSIONAL 3D APPLICATIONS
Offers Single-Slot, Dual-Monitor Support and Geometry Acceleration
NEW ORLEANS, La. - August 1996 - Diamond Multimedia Systems, Inc. (Nasdaq:
DIMD) announced the Fire GL 3000 graphics accelerator with hardware texture
mapping for professional 3D applications. Available in multiple
configurations with up to 40MB memory, the Diamond Fire GL 3000 utilizes the
high-performance GLINT 500TX rendering and GLINT Delta geometry engines from
3Dlabs, Inc. A single-slot PCI solution with on-board VGA, the Diamond Fire
GL 3000 also supports up to two monitors using Diamond's dual- screen
technology. With a base configuration of 8MB VRAM/8MB EDO DRAM for $2,495
manufacturer's suggested retail price (MSRP), the Diamond Fire GL 3000 is
expected to be available in September through OEMs, VARs and distributors.
"Animation professionals are increasingly turning to the combined power of
Microsoft's Windows NT, Intel's Pentium Pro processors and Digital Equipment
Corporation's (DEC) Alpha-based workstations," said David Watkins, vice
president and general manager of Diamond Multimedia's Visual Systems
Division. "Additionally, these professionals are seeking PC hardware
solutions that enable new levels of performance and functionality. The Fire
GL 3000 fulfills their needs by offering texture mapping in hardware, 3D
geometry acceleration and support for two monitors in a single-slot
solution."
Texture Mapping and 3D Rendering Acceleration
Using 3Dlabs' GLINT 500TX processor, the Diamond Fire GL 3000 offers hardware
texture mapping in real- time and is capable of rendering up to 500,000
gouraud-shaded polygons per second. The base configuration includes 8MB of
high-speed, dual-ported VRAM display memory and 8MB EDO DRAM (upgradeable to
32MB EDO DRAM) for up to 32-bit Z-buffer memory. Double buffering support at
resolutions up to 1600 x 1200 provides increased productivity by allowing
for the real-time display and rotation of 3D models.
"By providing real-time, texture mapping in hardware, the Fire GL 3000 speeds
up the creation phase," said Daniel Small, product manager for Softimage 3D
at Microsoft. "This capability is demanded by today's professional 3D
animators, especially those using Softimage 3D for Windows NT."
3D Geometry Acceleration
The GLINT Delta 3D setup engine included in the Diamond Fire GL 3000 acts as
a front-end processor to the GLINT 500TX rendering engine. By processing the
setup calculations for lines, polygons and other 3D primitives, the GLINT
Delta improves overall system performance by freeing the CPU from demanding
3D calculations. As a result, the Diamond Fire GL 3000 is capable of
boosting 3D performance up to three times faster than conventional rendering
engine-only solutions.
"The introduction of the Fire GL 3000 brings a new level of 3D graphics to
Pentium Pro processor-based systems," said Andre Wolper, director of
workstation marketing at Intel Corporation. "Coupled with the power of a
Pentium Pro processor, professionals get a system that delivers workstation
performance with the best of PC productivity applications, all in one."
Diamond's Dual Screen Technology
The dual screen capability of the Fire GL 3000, a single-slot PCI solution,
allows professionals to expand their workspace across two screens. By
utilizing two 220 MHz RAMDACs, the Diamond Fire GL 3000 supports up to 1600
x 1200 resolution and refresh rates up to 75Hz simultaneously on both
screens. Diamond's dual screen technology is especially suitable for
animation professionals who are able to display a set of applications on the
one screen and file folders, palettes and other tools on the other screen.
"The dual monitor support provided by the Fire GL 3000 addresses a key
problem for virtual environments," said Ken Pimentel, vice president of
product development at Sense8 Corporation. "When developing with World Up,
you can dedicate one monitor to showing your scene-hierarchy and property
browsers while the other monitor shows multiple rendered views."
Additional Features
3D Application Programming Interface
OpenGL, Heidi from Autodesk (API) support
Accelerated OpenGL software
Windows NT 4.0, Windows NT 3.51 and Windows 95
Advanced Visual Systems' AVS/Express, Autodesk's
Supported software
AutoCAD r12/13, Kinetix's 3D Studio Max,
Microsoft's Softimage, NewTek's Lightwave 3D and
Sense8's World Up and other leading applications
Diamond software tools 3D Win viewer software and Big Focus display list
driver technology
Maximum resolution up to 1600 x 1200
Maximum refresh rate up to 100Hz
Maximum color depth up to 24-bit True Color
Maximum True Color
resolution up to 1152 x 870 resolution
Configurations and
pricing:
8MB VRAM/8MB EDO DRAM $2,495 MSRP
8MB VRAM/16MB EDO DRAM $2,795 MSRP
8MB VRAM/32MB EDO DRAM $3,195 MSRP
Memory modules starting at $795 MSRP
Warranty three-year parts and labor
Diamond Multimedia
Diamond Multimedia is driving the desktop multimedia market by providing
interactivity and connectivity solutions for home, business and professional
PC and Macintosh users. Products include the Stealth and Monster 3D(tm)
series of multimedia accelerators, the Fire GL series of professional 3D and
CAD accelerators, and the Supra(r) series of faxmodems and NetCommander(tm)
ISDN adapters. Diamond also markets sound cards and multimedia and Internet
upgrade kits. Headquartered in San Jose, CA, Diamond has sales, marketing
and technical facilities in Vancouver (Wash.), Singapore, Tokyo, Starnberg
(Germany), Clichy (France) and Winnersh (U.K.). Diamond's products are sold
through regional, national and international distributors as well as to
major computer retailers, mass merchants and OEMs worldwide. Diamond's
common stock is traded on the Nasdaq Stock Market under the symbol DIMD.
Internet Blaster STR Spotlight
Internet Blaster 33.6 PnP
The fastest path to Internet access.
Heard about the Internet? Want to join the action? It's easy with
Creative's high-performance Internet Blaster 33.6 PnP. It comes complete
with everything you need to get started, including web browsing software,
email and free trial memberships to on-line services like America Onliner
and CompuServer. You can even create your own home page or make toll-free
phone calls over the Internet. Whether you're using Windowsr 95, Windows 3.1
or MS-DOSr, Internet Blaster 33.6 PnP installs automatically. So you'll be
cruising the Net in minutes. Once you're logged on, you'll appreciate this
modem's high-speed 33.6 Kbps performance, which displays even graphic-laden
Internet pages in the blink of an eye. Internet Blaster 33.6 PnP's high-
speed communications software helps you save time downloading files from web
sites around the world. What's more, convenient fax software, with a built-
in phonebook, fax broadcasting capability and fax viewer lets you send and
receive faxes directly from your PC. So why miss out on any more Internet
action? Experience how easy high-speed Internet access can be.
The high-speed way to master the Internet for users at every level;
ú High-speed 33,600 bps data/14,400 bps fax internal modem
ú High value Internet software bundle
ú Browse the Net with ease using Microsoftr Internet Explorer
ú Make toll-free phone calls over the Internet with WebPhone
ú Create and publish your own home page with HoTMetaL Light
ú Get the ultimate Internet experience with SPRYNET
Specifications
Data Rate Compatibility
ú Enhanced version of V.34 proposed 33600 bps
ú ITU V.34 and Rockwell V.FC: 28800; 26400; 24000; 21600; 19200; 16800;
14400 bps
ú ITU V.32bis/V.32/V.22bis/V.22/V.21/V.23: 14400; 12000; 9600; 7200; 4800;
2400; 1200; 300; 75 bps
ú Bell 212A/103J: 1200; 300 bps
Fax Rate Compatibility
ú ITU V.17/V.29/V.27ter: 14400; 12000; 9600; 7200; 4800; 2400 bps
Data Compression & Correction
ú ITU V.42bis/MNP 5 data compression
ú ITU V.42/MNP 2-4 error correction
ú MNP 10 data throughput enhancement
Data Throughput
ú Up to 115,200 bps
Command Set Compatibility
ú Enhanced "AT" Command Set
ú Class 1/class 2 fax commands and connects with Group 3 fax machines
Interface
ú Data Interface: 16-bit ISA bus
ú Line Interface: Modular line connector, two RJ11C phone jacks
Host Interface
ú ISA 16 bit bus
Dialing Capability
ú Dialing Methods: Tone/Pulse dialing
Features
ú Command buffer supports 40 characters
ú Auto dial and auto answer
ú Audio monitoring at modem internal speaker
ú EPROM supports 2 profiles and 4 telephone number sets
Test and Diagnostics Facilities
ú Remote digital loop and remote digital loop self test
ú Analog loop and analog loop self test
ú Digital loop test
Approvals
ú FCC and IC
BUNDLED SOFTWARE
Microsoftc Internet Explorer (Windows 95) from Microsoft Corporation
Microsoft Internet Explorer unlocks the potential of the Internet by opening
the Web to great new content and providing the best browser performance for
Win 95. It also provides compatibility to include all major Internet
standards and supports current security standards while ready for upcoming
enhancements.
WebPhone * (Creative Edition) from NetSpeak Corporation
WebPhone is the professional Internet telephone with integrated voicemail.
WebPhone provides telephone quality, real-time, full duplex, point-to-point
voice communications over the Internet and other TCP/IP based networks.
Using WebPhone, you can talk to anyone, anywhere on earth without incurring
any long distance charges.
HoTMetaL Light from SoftQuad Incorporated
Make your presence known on the Internet with SoftQuad's HoTMetaL Light. You
can now easily create and publish hypertext linked Web documents. With its
easy-to-use markup tools and powerful word processing features, it's all you
need to design the home page you have always wanted.
SPRYNET from Spry, Inc.
SPRYNET gives you the best of the Internet. The worldwide leader of Internet
access with comprehensive services, support and software for the home and
business markets gives you 5MB of disk space and easy-to-use tools to help
you build your home page on the Net. With SPRYNET, you can get the complete
Internet experience.
SuperFax 6.0 from Pacific Image Communications, Inc.
This versatile fax and data software provides a wealth of features guaranteed
to make PC communications effortless. SuperFax 6.0 features a comprehensive
fax program including fax broadcasting, a phonebook, fax viewer and TWAIN
support. SuperTerminal is also included for high speed data transfer.
Online Services
Free trial memberships to America Onliner and CompuServer.
WebPhone software requires an SVGA 256 color driver and Windows compatible
sound card with microphone and speakers or headset.
System Requirements
ú 486 DX/33 or higher
ú 4 MB of RAM (8 MB of RAM recommended)
ú 17 MB of free hard disk space
ú full length 16-bit ISA slot
ú DOS 5.0 or higher
ú Windows 3.1 or higher (Windows 95 needed for Microsoft Internet
Explorer)
ú CD-ROM drive required to install bundled software
Internet Explorer 3.0 Comparison Guide
For the latest version of this document (with informative links) please see:
http://www.microsoft.com/ie/ie3/compare.htm
Please note: Other product and company names herein may be the trademarks of
their respective owners.
Overview
Internet Explorer 3.0 is the web browser that puts you a step ahead on the
Internet! Now with ActiveX, Java, Plug-in, and the broadest HTML support,
Internet Explorer 3.0 provides the best browsing experience and most
technically advanced development platform for end users, organizations, and
content developers. And with innovative Internet conferencing,
collaboration, and browser customization, Internet Explorer 3.0 provides the
richest feature set of any browser while still offering an easy to use and
personalized Internet experience.
This document is designed to provide an informative framework for
organizations and individuals to compare Internet Explorer 3.0 and Netscaper
Navigator 3.0.
Internet browsers should be compared on two levels: architecture and
features. The architecture is the definitive aspect for performance,
extensibility, and future features. The feature set is most important for
ensuring that the browser takes advantage of the Web's rich offerings,
whether it be with respect to content viewing, security, communicating and
collaborating, or personalizing the Internet experience. Microsoft Internet
Explorer 3.0 has a more advanced architecture and offers the feature
superset of Netscape Navigator 3.0.
Internet Explorer 3.0 is architected as a set of ActiveX Controls. At its
heart is the component object model (COM), the object model that allows
programmers to mix and match languages as they flexibly program ActiveX
objects and create the most compelling applications and web sites. This
architecture is primarily important in that it distributes Internet
capabilities to the whole desktop. Any application can easily incorporate
Internet functionality by using Internet Explorer as an ActiveX control, and
likewise, Internet Explorer can take advantage of any other ActiveX enabled
applications. Secondly, Internet Explorer 3.0's component based architecture
makes it incredibly extensible. Additional functionalities can be inserted
without having to fundamentally change the code. Users only need to download
the addition, and not another full-sized product, to update Internet
Explorer.
Beyond having a superior architecture, Internet Explorer 3.0 offers all of
the important features that Navigator 3.0 does, and much more:
ú Superior HTML support including HTML 3.2 and Cascading Style Sheets
ú More Web Interactivity with broader programming and scripting language
support
ú Richer multimedia with Active Movie
ú Additional security using Authenticode code authentication, CryptoAPI
1.0, and more
ú True collaboration using NetMeeting for multipoint communication
ú Personalization for the individual and the administrator with the
customizable toolbar, ratings, and the Internet Explorer Administration Kit
Creating and viewing all the Web has to offer!
With our initial releases, the Microsoft Internet Explorer team concentrated
on creating a robust and reliable platform, stressing usability, and catching
up with Netscape Navigator's feature set. With Internet Explorer 3.0,
Microsoft has moved ahead of Navigator and other browsers by introducing a
new component-based architecture, supersetting Navigator features, and
enabling a next generation platform for Web content development. Internet
Explorer may not be the most used browser yet, but it is the most innovative,
technically advanced, and feature-rich browser available.
Cutting-Edge HTML and Style Sheet Support
Both Microsoft and Netscape realize that HTML is the backbone of the
Internet. Through the help of Internet standards committees such as the W3C
(http://www.w3.org/pub/www/) and the IETF (http://www.ietf.org/), HTML
provides a set of guidelines that define the latest capabilities for the
Internet.
But Microsoft and Netscape have taken different approaches to HTML.
Microsoft Internet Explorer 3.0 and Netscape Navigator 3.0 both support all
HTML 2.0 and some later standards. Support for the following HTML feature
s
are built into both Internet Explorer 3.0 and Navigator 3.0:
ú Standard Frames. Enable you to seamlessly open several panes within the
browser window, or embed a single frame anywhere in a Web page where you
could insert a graphic. Frames enable you to display many levels of
information without requiring that a visitor leave your site. Both browsers
support various options for the frame borders as well. *
ú Standard Tables. Give you great control over the display of text,
graphics, and background colors, making Web content more readable and
visually interesting.*
ú HTML 2.0.
ú Limited Multimedia. Run video and inline sound in a Web page.
Microsoft Internet Explorer 3.0 also goes further by fully supporting W3C and
IETF HTML specifications, including HTML 3.2, and more. Specifically:
ú Enhanced Frames. Includes frames-within-frames, floating frames, and
non-scrolling frames.
ú Enhanced Tables. Beyond simply supporting background colors, Internet
Explorer 3.0 also supports background images, wrapped text, and cell
groupings within tables.
ú Enhanced and TrueType Font Support
ú "HTML and STYLE" specification. One of the first post-3.2 HTML
specifications proposed by the W3C. This covers SPAN, DIV and STYLE elements
and linking of style sheets to HTML documents, it's the glue than binds style
sheets to HTML.
ú Cascading Style Sheets (CSS), level 1. Stylesheets bring desktop
publishing capabilities to the Web.
ú Embedding style information via STYLE attribute. (contained in the "HTML
and Style" specification, an adjunct to CSS). This allows for in-line style
information. Authors now have easy access to rich style attributes.
ú Linked style sheets. For advanced authors, style information can be
placed in external documents and reused across an array of HTML documents, a
valuable tool for administratively defined intranet and Web publishing. The
Webmaster can change the look and feel of an entire web site with changes to
a single style sheet.
ú Full font control. Easier control of font families, weighting, and
typographic measurement units (cm's, inches, pixels, percentages, em's, etc)
for sizing.
ú Full white-space control. Allows for setting margins in typographic
units around all edges of elements. This is a critical first step towards
realizing real desktop publishing-style pages.
ú Full background control (non-tiled). Allows the web author to place an
image behind an object, say, a table cell, in a variety of manners. Beyond
the standard full-tile, an image can be tiled vertically, horizontally, or
directly positioned anywhere on the page.
ú Backgrounds. Background colors and image capabilities can be added to
tables, paragraphs, or anywhere else they might enhance a web page.
ú Typographic space control. Allows for setting inter-line and intra-line
spacing (font `leading').
ú Indenting. Easily indent a line or paragraph of text on an HTML page.
ú Negative margins. Very rich control allowing elements to float over
other elements on a page.
ú CSS Layout. An experimental specification from W3C for handling frames,
floating frames, multi-column layout, 2D direct placement of elements,
ordering and overlapping of elements, all in a rich and well-architected HTML
syntax.
ú HTML Layout Control. Supports and facilitates using new HTML extensions
as pioneered between Microsoft and the W3C.
ú <OBJECT> tag support. The first of the post 3.2 HTML specifications
from the W3C, this tag is the W3C standard implementation for all EMBED and
APPLET functionality. It lets downlevel browsers see substitute content in
place of the object, applet, or plug-in that an updated browser would prefer.
ú Scrolling Marquees. Perfect for calling out time-critical information.
Netscape, on the other hand, not only lags in its support for HTML
standards, but is introducing proprietary extensions which are not as rich as
the standards-based offerings. Specifically:
ú Netscape supports the <EMBED> tag rather than the HTML standard, more
versatile <OBJECT> tag approved by the W3C. The approved HTML specification
for the object tag was completed in December 1995, sufficiently before
Netscape shipped even Navigator 2.0. Although <EMBED> is a proprietary tag,
Internet Explorer supports it for compatibility reasons.
ú Netscape introduced frames to Navigator in September 1995, yet did not
submit specifications to the W3C until June 1996.
ú Navigator 3.0 beta 5 has introduced even more proprietary HTML
extensions, despite the fact that richer functionalities are already
available with W3C supported extensions supported by Internet Explorer:
ú <MULTICOL> tag for placing information in columns
ú <SPACER> tag for positioning information in pages
Active Web Content Internet Explorer Netscape
Features 3.0 Navigator 3.0
HTML Support - Employing standards to create great
looking Web pages
HTML 3.2 tags Yes Some
Sub/Super Script Yes Yes
Tables wrapped by text Yes No
(alignment)
FONT Sizing, Color Yes Yes
W3C/IETF RFC1952 Tables Yes Some
Tables with cell grouping Yes Yes
Tables border control Yes Yes
Header and footer grouping Yes No
W3C HTML OBJECT tag Yes No
Stylesheets Yes None
Typeface selection Yes No
Typeface scaling (any Yes No
point size)
Margins control Yes No
Watermarks (non-scrolling Yes No
backgrounds)
Table background color Yes No
Table background image Yes No
Non-tiled-backgrounds Yes No
Full white-space control Yes No
Typographical space Yes No
control
Indenting Yes No
Negative Indenting margins Yes No
Other
Scrolling Marquees Yes No
Netscape Frames Yes Yes
Enhanced Frames Yes borderless only
(borderless, inline, and
floating)
Transparencies Yes Yes
Direct placement of Yes No
objects in page
Background sound Yes Yes
Blinking text No Yes
HTML 2.0 tags Yes Yes
Internet Explorer 3.0 offers the broadest HTML support of any browser, giving
web authors the greatest flexibility and users the best viewing experience.
Bringing Interactivity to the Web
While important to the viewing of static web pages, HTML provides only some
of the web's potential for dynamic web pages and Internet interactivity.
More powerful web content demands applications such as ActiveX controls or
Netscape Plug-ins to extend beyond HTML. Scripting these software applets
together provides for interactivity and a dynamic Internet experience.
As corporations move to intranets and the Internet, it becomes increasingly
important that they are also able to leverage their existing knowledge and
investment in tools and software. Microsoft and Netscape both address these
demands, but with different approaches.
Internet Explorer 3.0 and Navigator 3.0 both support:
ú Java applets are software components created using the Java language.
ú Just-In-Time Java Compiler for greater performance (Navigator only
supports Borland's JIT compiler).
ú JavaScript is a proprietary scripting language created by Netscape.
ú Plug-ins are developed by third-party vendors in the C programming
language or one of its variants to extend web viewing functionality in a
limited manner. Plug-ins are not cross-platform, as they need separate APIs
for different platforms. Hence cross-platform offerings are most often
original code ported to support the other platforms. Plug-ins are also
limited in that they can only be run in a Web environment and not in other
applications, so developers of plug-ins can reach only a limited market. In
addition, the specifications for plug-ins are defined only by Netscape and
change often. Finally, plug-ins are less safe since they rarely offer
licensing support and are not code signed.
Microsoft's open and extensible platform:
Customers have requested a browser that supports cutting-edge Web technology
and also leverages existing information and code. Internet Explorer 3.0
satisfies these demands using ActiveX. ActiveX is the only cross-platform,
language and application independent set of technologies.
Java is one of the best languages for creating an ActiveX control. Using
ActiveX technologies, Java applets can communicate or be scripted with any
ActiveX controls, regardless of the language in which they were created. And
because of Internet Explorer's COM architecture, the same Java applets can be
used in the browser or any other COM-based application.
ActiveX controls are fast and lightweight software components based on
Component Object Model (COM) technology, a technology that lets webmasters
and developers create live objects for Web pages or applications. ActiveX
controls can be created in a wide variety of languages, including Java. And
because they leverage existing technology, ActiveX controls can be used both
on web pages and any stand-alone application that is an ActiveX component
container (such as VisioT, Visual FoxPro, Microsoft Access) as easily as
embedding graphics in Web pages. There are currently over 1,000 ActiveX
controls commercially available and usable in web pages. (Developers and web
authors can find a wide variety of existing ActiveX controls at
http://www.microsoft.com/activex/gallery/)
ú ActiveX Scripting provides the greatest available flexibility to
developers for tying together software components. Microsoft Internet
Explorer 3.0 supports JScript, Microsoft's JavaScript-compatible scripting
language, as well as VB Script and any other ActiveX enabled scripting
language. This provides developers with the ability to choose from a
variety of scripting languages, including custom languages.
ú ActiveX Documents are Microsoft's answer to the common use of the
Internet and intranet for disseminating already existing information. Rather
than forcing users to port existing documents from their original forms into
HTML format, support for ActiveX Documents enables you to open richly
formatted documents, such as a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet or chart, directly
in the browser. For example, a finance intranet page might use ActiveX
Document support to place an Excel spreadsheet or chart on its internal Web
site. Intranet users could then open the document in its native Excel format
and have full editing and control capabilities through the use of the Excel
toolbar.
ú Any Just-In-Time Compiler. The Microsoft Just-In-Time Java Compiler will
provide the fastest way to run Java applications in a Web page, but Internet
Explorer is extensible enough to use any JIT compiler.
Not only does Netscape not offer the flexibility for creating and scripting
active content, but Netscape appears to be limiting the future offering as
well.
Netscape:
ú Is making semantic changes to JavaScript and the plug-in specifications
from version to version - the changes even cause some content to not work
between versions of Navigator.
ú Has never published source code for JavaScript
ú Will not license JavaScript technology to others
ú Has not submitted current JavaScript documentation to the W3C nor the
IETF
Active Web Content Internet Explorer Netscape
Features 3.0 Navigator 3.0
Scripting and Web Application Development: Using ActiveX to
create the webs most interactive pages
Native ActiveX Control Yes No+
support
Java Applet support Yes Yes
Scripting of Java Applets JavaScript and Partial Java
VBScript Script
Support for Java applet Yes Yes
"sandboxing"
Support for native Yes (ActiveX No+
document formats (such as Documents)
Word.doc or Excel .xls)
within the browser window
VBScript Yes No+
JavaScript-compatible Yes Partial
scripting
Integration of objects and Yes Partial
scripts
Netscape-compatible Plug-ins Yes Yes
Component Object Model Yes No
Extensible for creating Yes No
custom applications
Installable JIT Yes No
architecture
Browser serves as reusable Yes No
control for Integration
into external applications
Browser serves as Yes No
extensible components
integrated into desktop
operating system
Rather than only support Java, JavaScript, or LiveConnect and rely upon
existing technologies being recreated in these languages, Microsoft Internet
Explorer supports the widest amount of programming and scripting languages so
that users can evolve their technologies to the Internet. Internet Explorer
gives developers the greatest flexibility, and users the most content viewing
with ActiveX.
Multimedia on the Internet
Multimedia is another important chapter to the active content story.
Internet multimedia provides the opportunity for Web developers and authors
to provide stimulating content in a dynamic fashion.
Microsoft and Netscape have different vehicles for providing multimedia on
the Internet. Whereas Microsoft has worked with Internet standards
organizations and independent software developers to support a wide variety
of standards, Netscape has focused on a more limited multimedia offering.
Netscape Navigator 3.0 and Internet Explorer 3.0 both support:
ú AIFF, AU, MIDI, and WAV audio formats
ú AVI video format
ú In-line (streamed) sound support (Navigator needs the RealAudio plug-in)
ú QuickTime video playback (Navigator needs the Apple QuickTime plug-in),
3D animation, and VRML
In addition to all of the above multimedia formats supported by Navigator
3.0, Internet Explorer 3.0 also supports:
ú MPEG audio format
ú MPEG video format
ú Any ActiveX controlled in-line (streamed) sound
ú In-line (streamed) video
ú Active Movie, which supports MPV, MPA, MPE, MPEG, AU, AIF, AIFF, SND,
MID, RMI, Wav + AVI, MOV, and QuickTime formats in a single control and is
open and extensible for future technologies
ú ActiveX scripting support and HTML layout control for more and better
Multimedia development possibilities
Multimedia performance is directly linked to integration with hardware, the
operating system, and the browser itself. Microsoft Internet Explorer uses
DirectX technologies where available to ensure that hardware is optimized for
various forms of multimedia. It is tightly integrated with all operating
systems. And most importantly, Internet Explorer's component object
architecture and Active Movie allow multimedia to be fundamentally integrated
with the browser for the best multimedia performance on the Internet.
Netscape Navigator relies primarily upon loosely integrated multimedia
support through third-party plug-ins, a bolted-on approach in comparison to
Internet Explorer's complete, top-down multimedia offering.
Active Web Content Internet Explorer Netscape
Features 3.0 Navigator 3.0
Multimedia - Using ActiveX Controls to make your Web pages come alive!
Hardware acceleration of Yes (DirectX) No
video playback
Progressive Playback of Yes No
Video/Audio files
Video formats MPEG, AVI, MOV, AVI
(ActiveMovieT/LiveVideo) QuickTime
Audio formats WAV, MIDI, AIFF, WAV, MID,I AIFF,
AU, MPEG audio AU
In-line (streamed) sound RealAudio and RealAudio Plug-in
support other
ActiveX Controls
In-line (streamed) video Yes No
support
QuickTime video playback Yes Apple QuickTime+
(ActiveMovieT) plug-in
MPEG video/audio playback Yes (ActiveMovie) No
3D Animation and VRML Yes (Direct3D and Yes (Live3D)
VRML)
Microsoft Internet Explorer 3.0 offers very rich multimedia capabilities and
is integrated with the operating system for great performance.
Secure Communication and Interaction
Microsoft Internet Explorer 3.0 provides a comprehensive security solution
through the Microsoft Internet Security Framework. It lets Web users
communicate privately, download code they can trust, and identify themselves
to others across the Internet. Users can conduct transactions and participate
in consumer services on the Internet with the same privacy and security as in
the real world.
Netscape Navigator 3.0 and Internet Explorer support:
ú Server and client authentication. Uses a digital identification or
certificate to identify the user to Web servers. Conversely, server
authentication ensures that end users are communicating with their intended
parties.
ú SSL 2.0/3.0. A Netscape-developed protocol intended to provide secure
communication over a TCP/IP connection.
Beyond these features, Internet Explorer supports:
ú Code signing with Authenticode. Provides accountability for software
and software components downloaded from the Internet, including Java applets
and other ActiveX controls. Internet Explorer 3.0 lets end users identify
who published the software before it is downloaded and verify that it was not
tampered with.
ú CryptoAPI 1.0. Provides the underlying security services for the
Microsoft Internet Security Framework, and specifically for secure channels
and code signing. The delivery of CryptoAPI through Internet Explorer 3.0
lets developers easily integrate strong cryptography into their applications.
This security architecture provides a degree of extensibility that is
unmatched by Navigator 3.0.
ú PCT 1.0. Microsoft's integrated protocol for secure TCP/IP
communication.
Microsoft is actively participating in the Internet Engineering Task Force
(IETF), World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), and other groups to develop Internet
security standards. These efforts, along with an adherence to existing
certificate and cryptography standards, will ensure that Microsoft security
technologies are interoperable and open.
On the other hand, Netscape has not worked as closely with the standards
committees when introducing new security measures:
ú Despite repeated headlines about security flaws, Netscape failed to
submit the SSL protocol specification to any standards body until competition
brought them to the IETF security discussion. They remain steadfast in their
position of SSL only as they define it.
ú Netscape's implementation of certificates, despite being based on the
X.509 standard, does not allow access to the certificate store by any other
application, a proprietary and closed implementation. (Microsoft's "wallet"
implementation allows certificates to be used across applications)1
ú Licensees of SSL are prohibited from making any changes or fixing the
known security holes in SSL.
Secure Features Internet Explorer Netscape
3.0 Navigator 3.0
Secure Communication and Interaction
Support for Java applet Yes Yes
"sandboxing"
Code Signing for Java Yes No
Applets (Authenticode)
Control scripting security Yes No
Control security for data Yes No
streaming
Site Certificate Support Yes Yes
Client-side Certificates Yes Yes
SSL 2.0/3.0 support Yes Yes
PCT Support Yes No
Support for the Win32 Yes No
CryptoAPI# 1.0
Microsoft Internet Explorer provides the most robust and comprehensive set of
technologies for secure online communications and electronic commerce.
Communicating and Collaborating on the Web
The Web provides the opportunity for unparalleled communication and
collaboration. Other than communicating through the medium of Web page
publishing, features such as Internet telephony, data and video conferencing,
mail, news, chat, and application sharing are integral to complete
communications. With the NetMeeting and Microsoft Internet Mail and News
features, Microsoft Internet Explorer 3.0 sets the standard for Internet
Communication and Collaboration.
Netscape addressed their need for a communications solution by purchasing
InSoft, Inc, the makers of CoolTalk, to supplement their Internet mail and
news offerings.
Navigator 3.0 and Internet Explorer 3.0 both offer the following features:
ú Internet Mail and News: Includes quick access through the browser UI for
easy access to mail and news functionalities.
ú Point-to-point communications: the whiteboard allows for a maximum of
two collaborators, as does the chat, and the whiteboard users can only cut
and paste onto the shared board.
ú Point-to-point Internet telephony
Microsoft is building more than a communication and collaboration
application, it is building a platform. NetMeeting and Microsoft Internet
Mail and News offers much greater communication and collaboration
functionality than Netscape does:
ú Full HTML Support in Mail and News: More than just HTML reading,
Internet Mail and News users can create and read mail and news messages in
HTML. Any URL automatically becomes a link, with only a double-click
required to send the default browser to the site.
ú Sophisticated Mail Organization and Composition: Includes automatic mail
sorting using the Inbox Assistant, mail prioritization, integrated spell
checking, and drag-and-drop attachments and text. In addition, the address
book will import from other sources and has group management features that
are even easier than creating an alias.
ú Offline and Cached Mail and News capabilities: Users can mark
individual articles, threads, or even entire newsgroups for download. For
superior performance, Internet Mail and News caches articles while you read
online. Sophisticated cache management ensures that the cache is used
efficiently and as defined by the user.
ú Comic Chat: A graphical chat client.
ú Application sharing: This is the most important data/document
conferencing capability yet offered for Internet standard software. A user
can share out any application to other users, and all can see, contribute to,
and discuss the changes that are made, whether they have the shared
application on their machine or not. This collaborative tool makes
NetMeeting a true business feature.
ú Multipoint Communication: Multipoint chat, whiteboard, and application
sharing allow the user to hold meetings with three or more people, where
everyone receives the transferred files, can draw on the whiteboard, and see
and control the shared applications. This is a true community or
collaborative experience, not just a simple point-to-point call.
ú Industry Standards: NetMeeting adheres to T.120 protocols, the
International Telecommunications Union standards for data conferencing used
by telephone companies, PTTs, bridge manufacturers, video conferencing
vendors, software vendors, and service providers worldwide.
ú Industry Support: Over 120 companies, including Sprint, AT&T, and BT,
have announced their support for Microsoft's H.323/T.120/RTP/RTCP/RSVP
approach. As of the original release of NetMeeting, 18 companies had
announced products that are or will be compatible with NetMeeting, including
Intel, PictureTel, MCI, and Creative Labs. Many more promise to come.
Netscape has not committed to open communication and collaboration standards
on the Internet:
ú Despite being a member of the International Multimedia Teleconferencing
Consortium and announcing support for the T.120 and H.323 standards,
Navigator 3.0 does not implement anything based upon these standards.
ú CoolTalk does not have an open payload format (like T.120 or H.323), so
other applications cannot interoperate with Cooltalk
ú Cooltalk is proprietary technology that is admittedly transitory2
Communication and Internet Explorer Netscape
Collaboration 3.0 Navigator 3.0
Internet Conferencing Features - Communicating with
others over the Internet
Internet Audio Point-to-Point Point-to-Point
Communication
Collaborative Whiteboard Multipoint Point-to-Point
Internet Chat Multipoint Point-to-Point
Application sharing Multipoint No
File Transfer Yes No
Standards-based Yes No
conferencing (T.120,
G.723, H.323)
Internet Answering Machine No Yes
NNTP Internet Newsreader Yes Yes
Newsgroup Posting Yes Yes
POP3 Internet Mail client Yes Yes
Read and Create messages Yes read-only
in HTML
Offline Mail and News Yes No
support
Multilingual support for Yes No
Mail and News reading
Microsoft, through the implementation of open standards and an
unmatched feature set, has brought true communication and collaboration
capabilities to the Internet with Internet Explorer 3.0.
Personalizing the Internet Experience
The ability to personalize one's Internet experience makes accessing
pertinent information even easier, whether it be through providing various
localized versions, or personalizing the look and feel of the browsing
environment. Internet Explorer 3.0 has leapt ahead of Navigator for
personalization.
Navigator 3.0 and Internet Explorer 3.0 both offer:
ú History and Favorites (bookmarks) menu
ú Customizable, personal home page
ú Localization in a limited amount of languages
But Internet Explorer provides more personalization:
ú Use Mail/News reader of choice
ú Customizable toolbar configuration and buttons: Configure the Internet
Explorer toolbar in any manner and customize the quick link buttons to point
to Web sites of your choice.
ú Ratings (PICS) support which allow the user (or parent or administrator)
to limit access to sites with optional degrees of language, nudity, sex, or
violence as defined by the Recreational Software Advisory Council (RSAC).
ú The Internet Explorer Administration Kit (IEAK) allows corporate
administrators and organizations to:
1. Customize Internet Explorer 3.0 for distribution with corporate logos,
favorites, and toolbars.
2. Configure server settings for mail, news, User Location Services, proxy
address, ports and exceptions etc.
3. Configure toolbar, favorites, active movie, and custom command folder in
a per user or group defined manner.
The IEAK is licensed free of charge. In comparison, Netscape has yet to
release an administration kit and will reportedly charge $1995 when they do.
ú On-the-fly character set change by clicking on an icon in the lower
right corner of the user interface.
ú At least 25 Localized versions
Despite being an initiator of the effort to allow parents to limit the
content viewing of their children, Netscape has not supported the industry's
solution: the Platform for Internet Content Specification (PICS). Netscape
now dismisses the PICS solution as "not having any application for the
enterprise"3 and irrelevant since most sites do not yet support it.
Easy and Personalized Internet Explorer Netscape
Features 3.0 Navigator 3.0
Personalization Features - Creating the personal Web experience
Ratings (PICS) Support Yes No
History and Favorites Yes Yes
(Bookmarks) menus
Customizable, personal Yes Yes
home page
Distribution/Administratio Yes Yes
n Kit
Use Mail/News Reader of Yes No
choice
Ease-of-Use Features Making the Internet accessible to
everyone
Search, e-mail, news, edit Yes No
buttons on toolbar
View frame's HTML source Yes No
on context menu
Links table printing Yes No
option (for printing link
sources at the end of the
HTML document)
View Source and Refresh Yes No
context (pop-up) menu
commands for pages in
frames
Refresh and View Source Yes Yes
context (pop-up) for page
items
Internet shortcuts Yes Yes
Quick access to QuickLink Yes Yes
locations
Customizable QuickLinks Yes No
On-line tutorial Yes Yes
Mail Send command allows Yes Yes
you to mail an Internet
shortcut from the browser
GUI, Toolbars, help Yes Yes
Drag-and-drop of Web page Yes Yes
links
Full keyboard Yes No
accessibility
Print Preview No Yes
Localization Overview
Number of 3.0 Beta 8 1 - English
localized versions
Number of 2.0 release 27 6
localized versions
Number of 3.0 Release 25 11
localized versions
View any character set on Yes No
any version of Windows
International Language Yes Yes
control settings
Ability to change Yes No
languages on the fly
Languages in which the 3.0 browser will be available
Brazilian Portuguese Yes Yes
Czech Yes No
Danish Yes Yes
Dutch Yes Yes
English (US and Yes Yes
International)
Finnish Yes No
French Yes Yes
German Yes Yes
Greek Yes No
Hungarian Yes No
Italian Yes Yes
Japanese Yes Yes
Korean Yes Yes
Norwegian Yes No
Polish Yes No
Portuguese Yes No
Russian Yes No
Simplified Chinese Yes No
Slovak Yes No
Slovenian Yes No
Spanish Yes Yes
Swedish Yes Yes
Thai Yes No
Traditional Chinese Yes No
Turkish Yes No
Microsoft Internet Explorer 3.0 provides the IS manager and end user with
maximum flexibility to customize and personalize the Internet experience.
Conclusion
Microsoft Internet Explorer 3.0 is a technological leap-frog of Netscape
Navigator 3.0. It not only supersets Navigator 3.0's features across the
board, but its componentized architecture lays the foundation for integrating
the Internet with every aspect of today and tomorrow's PC.
For Immediate Release
Corel to Partner with Softbank Services Group for
Corelr WordPerfectr Technical Support
OTTAWA, Canada - August 12, 1996 - Corel Corporation today announced that
they will be bringing Softbank Services Group on board to round out their
Corelr WordPerfectr technical support team. An increase in sales has lead to
an increase in calls to technical support, resulting in the decision to route
elementary and well-documented issues over to Softbank. The Orem team will
continue to concentrate on core and new technology issues. "With the
addition of so many WordPerfect customers to our user base, our first
priority was to ensure that they continued to receive a high level of
service," said Paul Coffin, director of world wide technical support for
Corel Corporation. "This partnership will allow our home team to more
effectively continue their value-added support. We predict that our
customers will experience a seamless service upgrade and benefit from shorter
queue times." For comprehensive information regarding Corel WordPerfect
technical support offerings, please dial 1-801-765-4037 and request document
#7000. Customers may also visit Corel's home page at http://www.corel.com
and click on Service and Support.
Corel Corporation
Incorporated in 1985, Corel Corporation is recognized internationally as an
award-winning developer and marketer of productivity applications, graphics
and multimedia software. Corel's product line includes CorelDRAWT, the
Corelr WordPerfectr Suite, Corelr Office Professional, CorelVIDEOT and over
30 multimedia software titles. Corel's products run on most operating
systems, including: Windows, Macintosh, UNIX, MS-DOS and OS/2 and are
consistently rated among the strongest in the industry. The company ships
its products in over 17 languages through a network of more than 160
distributors in 70 countries worldwide. Corel is traded on the Toronto Stock
Exchange (symbol: COS) and the NASDAQ - National Market System (symbol:
COSFF). For more information visit Corel's home page on the Internet at
http://www.corel.com.
UltraEdit 4.10a STR Focus
IDM is a small business dedicated to generating quality software, and
providing consultation and other computer orientated services. My name is
Ian David Mead (hence the IDM). I started this business in April of 1994 with
my first product, a disk based editor called MEDIT. After a couple of name
changes it is now called UltraEdit and UltraEdit-32. Currently UltraEdit and
UltraEdit-32 are the only products available. Many hundreds, or thousands of
hours are required to generate a quality product, and to keep it competitive
in the market place. I would rather concentrate on a single product than
generate an inferior, or low quality group of products.
About UltraEdit/UltraEdit-32:
UltraEdit is a disk based editor with a 16-Bit version for Windows 3.x and a
32-Bit version for Windows NT and Windows 95 (not Win32s). The feature list
for both products is almost identical, and both products are fully supported.
Version 4.10 Changes
ú File Sort with ascending, descending, remove duplicate, ignore case
ú Convert ANSI to OEM, OEM to ANSI (format menu)
ú DOS to MAC conversion
ú Color selection for background, normal text, bookmarks (view menu)
ú Tools configuration, up to 10 user tools in advanced menu
ú Improved DOS commands and output capturing (particularly for Win95) (now
can pass path and/or filename and/or extension)
ú Invert Case
ú Macros can choose not to show the cancel dialog
ú Option to automatically reload the last set of open files on startup
ú Ctrl+Double Click now selects a complete string (configurable
delimiters)
ú 20 Templates now available (previously 10)
ú HEX mode highlights both sides of display (HEX and ASCII)
ú Improved macro support
ú Syntax highlighting now has configurable delimiters to better support
langauges with words that contain not alpha characters
ú Show spaces, tabs and new lines (View menu)
ú Installer really gives option to add UltraEdit to right mouse button in
Explorer
ú Bug fixes
Features:
ú Disk based text editing - No limit on file size, minimum RAM used even
for multi-megabyte files
ú Column mode editing!!!, Insert columns/ delete/ cut/ add sequential
numbers
ú 100,000 word spell checker
ú Syntax highlighting - configurable, pre-configured for C/C++ and VB and
some HTML
ú Hexadecimal Editor - Allows editing of any binary file
ú HEX Cut, Copy and Paste support, HEX Insert and Delete of characters
ú HEX Find, Replace and Replace All
ú Multiple files open and displayed at the same time
ú Open multiple files at once from the file open dialog (UltraEdit or
UltraEdit-32 on Windows 95)
ú Insert file into an existing document at cursor position
ú Splitter Windows
ú Configurable toolbar
ú Drag and Drop support from the file manager
ú Automatic word wrap at specified column with hard return
ú Insert and overstrike modes for editing
ú Multi-level undo and redo
ú Find and Replace with Regular Expressions - Also allows selection of
text between caret and find target when shift key is pressed
ú Goto Line Number or Page
ú Font Selection for display and printer. (Supports all fonts installed
including TRUE-TYPE fonts)
ú Print support with headers, footers, margins and page breaks.
ú Automatic Line Indentation
ú Tab Settings
ú Word Wrap Support
ú Bookmarks - Unlimited number of Bookmarks
ú Multiple Windows of the same file
ú Comprehensive macro support, including saving and loading, multiple
macros with HOT KEYS
ú Context Sensitive Help
ú Automatic backup file generated with (.BAK) extension in the directory
of the original file
ú UltraEdit retains its screen position each time it is used
ú Line & column number display (line number display may be disabled)
ú Pop-up menus with right mouse button.
ú Text conversion to lower or upper case, invert case and capitalization.
ú UNIX/MAC to DOS conversion
ú DOS to UNIX conversion
ú Auto detect UNIX or Binary/Hex files when loaded
ú Convert Word Wrap to CR/LF's allowing word wrap to be written to file
with hard returns
ú Convert CR/LF's to Word Wrap (removes CR/LF's from file)
ú Template Support
ú Find matching braces
ú Spawn a DOS command and capture output - run a compiler
ú Start a Windows Program
ú Literal character insertion to insert control codes - CTRL+I
ú Read Only default option and edit menu item
ú Save Selection As file
ú Delete Line
ú Insert Date and Time
ú Command line option for line and column positioning
ú More ...
Version 4.10a Changes
ú Bug Fixes (several existed in versions prior to v4.10):
ú AltGR+Key combinations did not work - French/German Keyboard Issue
ú Commands using Ctrl+Alt+Key remapped - See help
ú Fix possible lock up with use of configurable delimiters with syntax
highlighting
ú "Find In files" screen display could disappear
ú UltraEdit now loads files with commas in the name
ú Changes for command line support of line/column cursor position - see
help
ú Fixed intermittent problem with two small square boxes showing up at end
of file (old problem)
Registration:
You are limited to 45 Days of use for an unregistered version (30 days if
previously expired version of UltraEdit exists). Single user registrations
are $30.00. This allows a single user to use both 16-Bit and 32-Bit versions.
Please inquire for quantity discounts (10 or more users) or site license
information. Registered users are entitled to FREE upgrades for one year by
downloading the latest version. If a new authorization code is required it
will be issued upon request at no charge to users who have registerd within
the previous 12 months.
Upgrades after 12 months are $15 per user.
The following methods of registration are available:
Mail, E-Mail, Telephone or FAX.
UltraEdit is a shareware program. If you find it useful and continue to use
it you are obligated to register it with the author by sending $30.00 (Ohio
Residents add $1.65 Sales Tax) to:
Ian D. Mead
8209 Chestnut Hill Ct.
West Chester, OH 45069
USA
Telephone/Fax:(513) 779 8549
Or For VISA/MasterCard orders, include:
1) Name of card holder
2) Address of card holder
3) Name and address of user if different from card holder
4) Card #.
5) Expiration date of card
Orders may be Faxed or telephoned to US telephone number (513) 779 8549.
Orders may be E-Mailed to idm@iglou.com.
EDUPAGE STR Focus Keeping the users informed
Edupage
Contents
MOTOROLA FIRST WITH POWERPC COMPUTER
Motorola will be the first company to manufacture a computer based on the
PowerPC chip that the company jointly developed with Apple and IBM. Machines
using the PowerPC platform will be able to run Macintosh software from Apple
as well as Windows software from IBM. Apple says its operating system
software for PowerPC machines will be ready early in 1997. (Wall Street
Journal 9 Aug 96 C3)
U.K. INTERNET PROVIDERS PLAN TO RESTRICT CYBERPORN
Reacting to pressure from Scotland Yard, the Internet Service Providers
Association, representing 60 of an estimated 140 providers in the United
Kingdom, will be asking its members to voluntarily block access to sites and
services featuring hard-core pornography. An executive of Demon Internet,
which has the largest subscriber base in the U.K., dismisses the proposed
action as ineffective: "This is not a solution, it is just hiding the
problem." (Financial Times 10 Aug 96)
AOL SEES ITS IMPORTANCE "MORE CLEARLY THAN EVER"
Following last Wednesday's 19-hour blackout of America Online on August 9th
because of system problems that developed during routine maintenance, AOL
chief executive Steve Case concluded that "the disruption caused by the
temporary unavailability of AOL illustrates more clearly than ever before how
important AOL has become in the daily lives of our members." Case said:
"We still have a long way to go to make AOL as reliable as must-have
utilities such as electricity and the telephone. But that's what we intend
to do." Members will get credit for the lost service, which, for
individuals who subscribe to AOL's standard billing plan, will amount to
about a 30-cent credit. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution 9 Aug 96 D2)
WEB SITES COULD MAKE MONEY FROM CHAT
Forrester Research, Inc. says it won't be long before every major content
site has uses tools that make chat available to its visitors. The
capability will encourage repeat-visits to the sites, allow businesses to use
their sites for training and customer service, and encourage the development
of "chat clubs" that will create revenue for the site from cover charges and
advertising. (Computer Industry Daily 12 Aug 96)
HISTORY OF THE INTERNET
In their absorbing new book, "Where Wizards Stay Up Late," Katie Hafner and
Matthew Lyon tell the fascinating early history of the Internet. The book,
published by Simon & Schuster, has now arrived in bookstores, and an excerpt
will appear in the next issue of Educom Review. (Educom Review Sep/Oct 96)
WEB DESIGN IS "ATROCIOUS"
Neville Brody, the graphics designer who worked on the movie "Mission:
Impossible," says that "ninety-nine percent of Web sites are atrocious. They
have bad design and even worse logic." Part of the problem is that "there's
nothing worse than engineers designing things and the Internet is by and
large designed by engineers. They can't see beyond technological advance.
Communication often isn't part of the language of the Internet, which is
something of a paradox." (The Guardian 7 Aug 96)
PRIVACY VS. FREEDOM-OF-INFORMATION ON THE WEB
A computer consultant in Oregon paid the state $222 for its complete motor
vehicles data base, which he then posted to a Web site, prompting charges of
privacy violations from people who complained that he had invaded their
privacy. The database allows anyone with an Oregon license plate number to
look up the vehicle owner's name, address, birthdate, driver's license
number, and title information. The consultant's motive in posting the
information, which anyone can obtain for a fee by going to a state office,
was to improve public safety by allowing identification of reckless drivers.
Oregon Governor John Kitzhaver says that instant access to motor vehicle
records over the Internet is different from information access obtained by
physically going to state offices and making a formal request for
information: ``I am concerned that this ease of access to people's addresses
could be abused and present a threat to an individual's safety.'' (Associated
Press 8 Aug 96)
HIGH-TECH RECRUITING
Although some companies complain that colleges and universities are not
sufficiently preparing their graduates to cope with the large array of
computer operating systems and programming languages in the real world,
corporate America is relentlessly pursuing graduates of technical programs.
One example: the number of companies doing on-campus recruiting at the
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign has doubled since 1994. (Wall
Street Journal 9 Aug 96 B5)
SIGN OFF NOW! (BUT FIRST FINISH READING EDUPAGE)
University of Pittsburg psychologist Kimberly Young sees an epidemic of
personal problems -- including academic failure and divorce - developing in
people "addicted" to online activity, and says you're addicted if the answer
"yes" to more than three of the following questions: Do you feel preoccupied
with the Net and think about it while offline? Do you feel a need to spend
more and more time online to achieve satisfaction? Are you unable to
control your online use? Do you feel restless or irritable when attempting
to cut down or stop your online use? Do you go online to escape problems
or relieve feelings such as helplessness, guilt, anxiety or depression? Do
you lie to family members or friends to conceal how often and how long you
stay online? Do you risk the loss of a significant relationship, job, or
educational or career opportunity because of your online use? Do you keep
returning even after spending too much money on online fees? Do you go
through withdrawal when offline, such as increased depression, moodiness, or
irritability? Do you stay on line longer than originally intended? (San
Jose Mercury News 10 Aug 96)
MICROSOFT BOOSTS APPLE SOFTWARE EFFORTS
In an effort to boost Apple Computer's appeal to potential buyers, long-time
rival Microsoft is setting up a separate unit that will focus on assisting
small software companies to write Internet programs for Apple computers.
The unusual move is motivated, in part, by Microsoft's worry that it would
face serious antitrust problems if Apple were to go out of business.
Microsoft's new strategy means that software writers are free to create
programs just for Macs, a reversal of its previous policy that required
independent developers to write software for Windows as well as Mac systems.
The new unit may also make no-strings-attached cash grants of up to $100,000
to small software developers to aid their efforts. The goal is to "help make
sure that Apple's market share stays between 8 and 11%," says the unit's
director. (Wall Street Journal 12 Aug 96 A3)
CALLING FROM THE WEB
New software from VocalTec allows users to initiate a voice conversation
while perusing a Web site. For instance, a person scanning a clothing
retailer's Web site could click on a "phone call" icon, and connect directly
to someone at the company via the Internet. The feature is included in
VocalTec's Internet Phone Telephony Gateway Server. PC owners must have
extra software for their Web browsers to make the voice link work. A free
version is available for testing at < http://www.vocaltec.com >. (Tampa
Tribune 12 Aug 96 B&F5)
MICROSOFT USES "CONTENT" STRATEGY IN BROWSER WAR
Microsoft has struck deals that will allow it to bundle the Wall Street
Journal's Interactive Addition and ESPN Sports Zone into its new version 3.0
of Internet Explorer browser software, which will become available free over
the Internet at midnight tonight. Gartner Group analyst David Smith says:
"This ushers in a new era of content competition. If you look at how
Microsoft built their franchise in operating systems, it was by adding
applications and locking people in. Now content is the application of the
Internet." (New York Times 13 Aug 96 C2)
WEBTV READY TO GO
Philips Consumer Electronics unveiled its Magnavox WebTV product last week,
and says the devices will be available for purchase Oct. 1, priced at $329.
"Our research shows while American consumers have a general awareness of the
Internet, the cost of hardware is perceived to be prohibitive," says a
Philips senior VP. The WebTV must be connected to the Internet using its
own service, called WebTV Network. (St. Petersburg Times 12 Aug 96 p11)
SCALPEL TECHNOLOGY PACKS MORE POWER ON A CHIP
Bell Labs researchers have come up with a way to use electron beams to
imprint microchips, inscribing four times more features onto a chip than
today's standards. The electron beam machine, dubbed Scalpel, will enable
the chip industry "to continue the success that it's had over the past
decades of reducing the size of the chip every couple of years. It looked
like with conventional optical lithography techniques that they'd run out of
gas sometime around the end of the century," says the head of Bell Labs'
advanced lithography research unit. "Electron beams have been around for a
long time. But in terms of writing chips on wafers they were slow so nobody
used them commercially... So what we've done with Scalpel is figure out a
way to ... make an electron an electron beam printing technique that isn't
slow and will have the ability to imprint smaller and smaller features."
(Investor's Business Daily 13 Aug 96 A8)
COMPUTER COMPANIES JOIN ISDN PRICING FRAY
Computer companies are joining consumer activists in urging the telephone
companies to speed up deployment of ISDN (integrated services digital
network) services by lowering prices. In California, Pacific Bell is under
attack by a group that includes Intel Corp., the California ISDN Users Group,
the California Cable Television Association, Jetstream Communications, Inc.,
FlowPoint, and Siemens Rolm Communications, Inc. The controversy reflects
what is happening in other states, with the phone company saying its ISDN
rates must reflect the cost of introducing the service, which it claims are
high, and expressing concern that low flat-rate charges will encourage
customers to tie up lines 24 hours a day. Intel has complained to the Public
Utilities Commission that "an entire industry is poised to deliver mass-
market ISDN products. Unreasonable ISDN pricing, as proposed by Pacific
Bell... may preclude the development of a mass-market ISDN industry, and
will certainly retard its growth." Uneven pricing by telcos is also an issue
- Bell Atlantic's proposed flat rate charge for the District of Columbia is
$249 a month, while in Tennessee, BellSouth charges $25 to $29 a month. A
Bell Atlantic spokesman says , "It's very simplistic for computer companies
to point fingers at us if their sales are not increasing. These are
wonderful companies, but we don't tell them how to run their businesses.
It's not appropriate for them to tell us how to run ours." (BNA Daily Report
for Executives 8 Aug 96 C1)
BANK TESTS WIRELESS PAYMENT SYSTEM
The Bank of Nova Scotia is taking electronic banking one step further,
unveiling a new portable point-of-sale debit- and credit-card terminal that
will allow restaurant customers to pay electronically while still at their
tables and drivers to pay at the gas pump while still in their cars --
leading to more convenience and fewer lost or forgotten cards. Instructions
to and from the customer's bank will be transmitted from the hand-held
terminals through a small radio base station on the merchant's premises, then
either via cellular or land-line phone to the bank. Each base station can
handle up to 32 terminals within a 300-meter radius, but a long-range
version will be available within a few months to allow pizza delivery drivers
to offer the same service at customers' doors. (Toronto Globe & Mail 9 Aug
96 B3)
MCI PLAN COULD KILL TELESAT'S $1.6B
AMERICAN SATELLITE DEAL
MCI Telecommunications has asked the FCC to seek approval from the
International Telecommunication Union to use two slots immediately adjacent
to the ones Telesat Canada hopes to use in its deal with Tele- Communications
Inc. and TelQuest -- a move that could kill Telesat's $1.6-billion satellite
program. MCI wants to use the satellites to "spot-beam" TV signals to 16
major U.S. cities, which would knock Telesat's satellites out of the
American markets because of their proximity. (Toronto Financial Post 10 Aug
96 p4)
EUROPE ONLINE DECLARED BANKRUPT
Europe Online, a high-profile venture backed by big names such as Britain's
Pearson PLC, Germany's Burda AG, the Hachette unit of France's Lagardere
Groupe, and AT&T, recently was declared bankrupt by a Luxembourg court and
ordered to liquidate its holdings in order to pay creditors. The company,
which claimed about 25,000 subscribers, is about $40 million in debt. "They
did just about everything wrong," says the co-founder of a competing
service, the British Pipex unit of UUNet Technologies. "For what they spent,
we could have given every business in Europe an Internet account for free."
The company is still hoping for a bailout, however, by one of its biggest
creditors, Deutsche Telekom AG. (Wall Street Journal 12 Aug 96 B2)
APPLE TO REDUCE R&D SPENDING
Ellen Hancock, Apple's new vice president for research and development says
that chief executive Gil Amelio wants research spending to come down. "He
has given us specific targets he want us to reach over the next few years."
Hancock says the company is cutting R&D expenses in a way that will not
hamper innovation. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution 14 Aug 96 E2)
THE GRAYING OF THE NET
A new study of Internet use patterns conducted by Nielsen Media Research and
Commercenet says that recent Internet growth seems to be coming from
newcomers who are older, less affluent, and inclined to spend less time
online than previous long-term Net users. An executive summary of the report
is available at the Commercenet site < http://www.commercenet.com >.
Vanderbilt professors Donna Hoffman and Thomas P. Novak, who had severely
criticized the earlier study to which this is a follow-on, say that Nielsen
appears to have taken their earlier criticisms into account in this new
report. (New York Times 14 Aug 96 C2) The survey also found business users
increasingly are buying products and services through the World Wide Web, and
industry analysts say the new results provide some of the most convincing
evidence to date of the explosive growth of the Net and the ways in which it
is being used by a broader cross-section of the population. Among those
surveyed in April, 17% said they had used the Net at least once in the past
six months, up from 10% in August 1995, while usage of the Web increased to
13% from 8% during that period, indicating people continue to use the
Internet primarily to send e-mail or browse the Web. (Ottawa Citizen 14 Aug
96 B8)
JUSTICE SCRUTINIZES IBM-STORAGETEK DEAL
IBM's alliance with Storage Technology Corp., which has united two former
rivals in a critical segment of the competitive disk-drive market, is
raising eyebrows at the Justice Department's antitrust division. "We're
looking at the possibility of anticompetitive practices in the direct-access
storage industry," says a Justice Dept. spokeswoman. IBM says it's
cooperating with the inquiry and doesn't anticipate any negative findings.
The alliance, which allows IBM to sell StorageTek devices under its own
label, has enabled IBM to maintain a strong position in the market for high-
end storage devices, and has given StorageTek access to IBM's worldwide
marketing clout. (Wall Street Journal 14 Aug 96 B4)
DOMAIN NAMES CAUSING CYBER-HEADACHES
Seeking to extricate itself from a growing legal quagmire in cyberspace, the
company that assigns names for Internet sites issued a new policy Wednesday
for resolving disputes over addresses. Network Solutions Inc., which hands
out domain names under an agreement with the U.S. National Science
Foundation, said it would shut down a site within 90 days if someone holding
a registered trademark to the site's name makes a challenge. But trademark
lawyers and Internet specialists say the company's new policy will do little
to quell the emerging controversy. Such disputes are occurring with
increasing frequency, usually when a trademark holder discovers that someone
else is using their trademark as the name of an Internet site. (Vancouver
Sun 15 Aug 96 D5)
ELECTRONIC SEAL OF APPROVAL
The National Computer Security Association has launched a certification
program for Web site security. For $8,500 the NCSA will check firewalls,
encryption, Internet Protocol address logging, passwords and other areas to
determine whether a site is hacker-proof. Sites that pass the inspection may
sport an NCSA certification seal. "We want to make users feel confident
about electronic commerce," says NCSA's president. "If we give Web sites a
standard to meet, it might help make electronic commerce more likely."
Meanwhile, the Council of Better Business Bureaus has launched BBBOnLine, a
service that monitors online advertising claims through its 137 bureaus
nationwide and provide online reliability reports. (Information Week 5 Aug
96 p22)
DIGITAL LIBRARY TRANSITION WILL TAKE AWHILE,
SAYS PROJECT TULIP
Project TULIP (The University Licensing Program), a five-year experiment in
providing online access to scholarly journals, has concluded, and the
results indicate that the transition from conventional to digital libraries
will take much longer and cost more than commonly thought. "A common view,
which all TULIP participants share, is that the transition to a digital
library will go slower than they had expected before starting the project,"
says the project's final report, which emphasizes the need for faster speeds
and increase storage capacity on campus networks. In addition, the project
found that it's important for institutions to know what library users want,
and to promote electronic access to raise awareness on campus. The report is
available at < http://www.elsevier.nl/locate/tulip/ >. (Chronicle of Higher
Education 16 Aug 96 A21)
TIME WARNER TO OFFER INTERNET ACCESS
Following a successful trial in Elmira, N.Y., Time Warner Cable will begin
offering Internet access to cable subscribers in Akron and Canton, Ohio next
month. (Investor's Business Daily 14 Aug 96 A1)
NCR WINS POSTAL SERVICE CONTRACT
The NCR Corporation, newly severed from AT&T and destined to become an
independent, publicly traded company at the end of the year, has won a $119
million contract with the U.S. Postal Service for computer workstations,
flat-screen displays, and other equipment. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution 14
Aug 96 E2)
COREL TO CONTRACT WORDPERFECT QUERIES
Swamped by more than 5,000 calls per day, Corel Corp. has hired an outside
company to provide technical support for its WordPerfect users. Effective
Friday, Softbank Service Group will field WordPerfect inquiries on behalf of
Corel. Analysts point out Corel's announcement highlights the increased
emphasis on customer support in th
e escalating software wars as Corel and
Microsoft work to boost customer service in the highly competitive market
for office suite software. (Toronto Financial Post 14 Aug 96 p4)
NET CENSORS IN SINGAPORE
In September censors in Singapore will trying to prevent the 120,000 Internet
users on that island from accessing Web sites that carry pornographic
material, discussions of banned topics (including race and religion), or
criticism of the government. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution 15 Aug 96 C3)
Edupage is written by John Gehl (gehl@educom.edu) & Suzanne Douglas
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Kids Computing Corner
Frank Sereno, Editor
The Kids' Computing Corner
Computer news and software reviews
from a parent's point of view
Stanley's Sticker Stories
Hybrid Format CD-ROM
$39.99 ($15 mail-in rebate available)
for ages 3 to 7
Edmark Corporation
P.O. Box 97021
Redmond, WA 98073-9721
1-800-320-8377
http://www.edmark.com
Program Requirements
IBM Macintosh
OS: Windows 3.1, Windows 95 OS: System 7
CPU: 486 or higher CPU: 68030 or
higher
HD Space: 4 MB HD Space: 4
MB
Memory: 8 MB Memory: 8 MB
Graphics: 640 by 480 with 256 colors Graphics:
256 colors, 13" monitor
CD-ROM: Double-speed CD-ROM: Double-speed
Audio: 8-bit Windows compatible sound card
Other: mouse (printer, microphone optional)
Stanley's Sticker Stories is an enchanting writing tool for young children.
It features cartoon characters, zany sounds, cool ditties and delightful
animations in a wonderful authoring environment. This fantastic program will
inspire and fascinate your child.
Your child can write stories featuring many famous Edmark characters such as
Millie the Math Cow, Bailey, Sammy Snake and more. These characters are
drawn in a colorful cartoon style that is very pleasing to children. These
wonderfully drawn characters and the scenic backgrounds ensure that your
child's stories will be beautiful. This will loosen his creative inhibitions
because he will not fear that his artwork is not good enough.
Writing stories is very easy and some may call it child's play! Simply pick
a background from the more than twenty locations in Stanley's town, then
place stickers on the screen to tell your story. The program includes more
than 300 stickers. Stickers can be placed in front of, behind or between
objects while they scale proportionally as you move them forward and back in
the scene. You can click on a button to animate the sticker and you can also
record your own audio for the characters. You can insert introductory music
and narration into each page. You can finish each page by writing text using
your choice of included fonts, type sizes and colors. The editing tools make
it easy to change individual pages, rearrange pages or even delete pages from
your story.
Sticker Stories is actually a modified version of Edmark's Imagination
Express authoring series. Edmark removed a few tools and features, but they
enhanced the interface greatly for younger users. The program includes
audible help that makes the program a breeze to operate for pre-readers.
Simply hold the cursor over an object and Stanley will explain its function
or use. A guided tour teaches how each tool works through demonstrations.
Millie and Bailey give story ideas using numbers and letters that are
educational so children can learn while creating.
This program challenges your child to think creatively. He can plan
elaborate cartoons complete with sound effects or he can create a simple
poster or picture book. This is a great family program because everyone can
get involved in creating sound effects or narration for the story or
developing the story line. Each story can be a treasured momento of your
child's progress in developing creativity. I printed a few stories on an HP
560c printer and the results were gorgeous.
Stanley's Sticker Stories provides a rich learning environment that is fun-
filled for your entire family. I think Edmark was too conservative with the
age range rating for this program. I believe older children and adults will
enjoy creating books and multimedia stories with Sticker Stories too. Backed
by a 30-day moneyback guarantee, this program is a nearly risk-free purchase.
Edmark offers excellent technical support and the program manual has an
excellent troubleshooting section. The available $15 rebate brings your
final cost down to only $25 and that makes this is an outstanding value. If
you want to get your children interested in writing and storytelling at a
young age, Stanley's Sticker Stories is a fantastic choice for your home
software library.
Ratings
Graphics 9.5
Sound 9.5
Interface 10.0
Play Value 9.5
Educational Value 10.0
Bang for the Buck 10.0
Average 9.5
Computer Gaming Section
STReport Feature
EDITOR'S NOTES - August 15, 1996
CATCHING UP
It seems that just when I thought I had some time, it goes away just as fast.
But that should all change. My duties as a network consultant are just
abpout done. Just another two weeks of tying up loose ends for those clients
that are moving to another company. This is something that I've been looking
forward to for a long time. Now I can focus more of my efforts on things
like STReport and bringing you coverage on portable computing and
entertainment.
NINTENDO 64 HYPE BEGINS...
As we near September 30th, Nintendo 64 is starting to get lots of attention.
And STReport will be there with coverage. And yes, the coverage will be
better than we had planned for Sony PlayStation. In fact, our coverage for
PlayStation and Nintendo 64 should be much better thanks to my release of my
consulting duties (see above). I've already worked out a deal with a local
dealer (the same one who had provided me with the PlayStation) for a review
unit of the Nintendo 64. And I am lining up game vendors to get their
titles.
We hear of 16 titles that should be available at the time of the game system
release. Of course, the most anticipated is Mario 64, which recently got the
tope position of Next Generation Magazine's Top 100 Video Games of all time
(see the September 1996 issue). So we'll have to wait and see what happens.
GAME REVIEWS
In this issue, you'll find four PlayStation reviews: Tekken, Agile Warrior F-
IIIX, Power Serve 3D Tennis and Air Combat. I know these are somewhat older
games, but it's time to play catch up. Now with my focus away from network
consulting, I really hope to keep weekly columns from now on. I enjoy the
work I do here at STReport and it's very nice to have an opportunity to
review portable computing and entertainment.
As always, if there are any questions or comments or suggestions, feel free
to e-mail me at 75300.1770@compuserve.com.
Marty
[Personal Info on Marty: owner of Perfection Applied, offering publishing and
freelancing services. Our web site is currently under development, as is our
new World Wide Web publication, Megafone Expressus. Stay tuned for web site
updates. Also co-owner of InfoStream, publishers of printed and on-line
periodicals. Check us out at http://www.info-stream.com ]
ENTERTAINMENT: Sony PlayStation
Game Review: Tekken
Developer: Namco
Publisher: Namco
List Price: $59.95
Ease Of Play: Medium/Difficult
There are three type of games that most people are familar with: role playing
(RPG), sports titles (football, baseball) and fighting. To attract game
players of all ages, developers try to create titles that are fun,
entertaining and challenging. With the first fighting game for the
PlayStaion, Battle Arena Toshinden had all three attributes. Now comes
Tekken from long-time video game producer Namco. Can it match or beat
Toshinden as the best fighting game on the PlayStation? Well, it's good, and
it comes close.
GAME PLAY
The goal of the game is to pick a fighter and use the controller to make the
right moves that beats your opponant. A lot of us remember Double Dragon
when it first appeared in the arcades and how the idea of a fighting game was
fun and etertaining. Well today with Tekken, a fighting game is really
changed. We now expect #d players that can rotate 360 degrees and be able to
perform all sorts of moves. Tekken lives up to this call with great game
play and action.
ACTION
Bringing on the action, here are a list of the players in Tekken. Kazuya
Mishima, Paul Phoenix, King, Nina Williams, Jack, Marshall Law, Michelle
Chang and Yoshimitsu. My favorite in Paul Phoenix, who is the ultimate
fighter with some really cool moves. The most interesting fighter is King,
who wears a mask from a leopard. While it's funny to watch this, King really
is a great fighter. And of course, Nina and Michelle are not to be
underestimated. Their fighting skills are wonderful and are fun to play as
and play against.
CONCLUSION
Tekken is a must have fighting game. During the time I played it, I got
really frustrated that it provided such a challenge when I was probably
looking for an easy win. This is good because as I got better, the increased
challenge of game play was welcome. As newer fighting games come onto the
scene (one of which is Tekken 2, which should be out by the time you read
this review), the moves and entertainment value will keep fighters coming
back for more and more.
Graphics: 9.0
Sound FX/Music: 9.0
Control: 8.5
Manual: 7.5
Entertainment: 9.0
Reviewer's Overall: 9.0
Basically, with the exception of the manual, Tekken is a wonderful game
providing great graphics, movement of the characters being part of that. The
sound and control of the game play is just about perfect, with a few problems
in knowing which move to use when you need to. The entertainment value of
Tekken is one that other games need to measure their position in the fighting
game market.
ENTERTAINMENT: Sony PlayStation
Game Review: Agile Warrior F-IIIX
Developer: Black Ops Entertainment
Publisher: Virgin Interactive
List Price: $59.95
Ease Of Play: Difficult/Advanced
"Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to protect the world from a
nuclear attack. This is done by preventing a massive rocket from launching
into space. In the process, you must avoid the enemies. And to further
complicate things, you need to find extra fuel, ammo and protection. You are
given an amazing flying machine - the F-IIIX - which was used in the Desert
Storm conflict. That is all. This tape will self-destruct in 5 seconds."
Sound challenging? It should. Agile Warrior is one tough game. For a
flying game, it has many options and it gets harder each mission you
complete. This is one game that will be played for sometime. Let's see what
it offers in game play and action.
GAME PLAY
Basically, the goal of the game is to get enough extra fuel and ammo to shoot
down the enemies who get in your way of reaching the nuclear rocket that is
trying to take off. You must destroy the rocket to save the planet from
being "nuked". There are other targets to hit along the way such as tanks,
choppers and boats. You can use guns or missles to shoot things down. Your
missles are really cool, as you can choose a sidewinder, the elusive AMRAAM
and the Maverick. When you need to blow something up, these baby's can
really take it out and quick.
ACTION
Agile Warrior has lots of action, with plenty to spare. During your mission
and flying around, there are lots of objects around. The extra fuel tanks,
extra guns and ammo, racing to get the rcoket blown up before it takes off
and all sorts of bad guys in big jets trying to shoot you down. You need to
have control over your jet and you also need to make sure you don't just
wander and fly about. Because if time runs out, you could be nuked once it's
too late to blow up the rocket.
I had to play the game for a few days before I got used to knowing where
things were and to judege the amount of time I had in the different game play
modes before the rocket took off. That's a hard thing to get used to, but it
teaches you to fly smart, blow up things that need to be blown up and huring
over to the rocket and take it out.
CONCLUSION
One of the funnest games I've played in a long time, Agile Warriror is really
great. Virgin and Black Ops deserve judos for making such a fine game. This
game keeps me coming back for more and more action. As I may have mentioned
before, I really like flying and driving games and this one is tops in my
book. Let's hope that other flying games take note of this PlayStation title
as what to do for action, game play and overall entertainment value.
Graphics: 9.5
Sound FX/Music: 9.0
Control: 8.5
Manual: 8.5
Entertainment: 9.0
Reviewer's Overall: 9.0
The graphics, sounds and control were very good, with just some choopiness in
all three when there are a lot of things on the screen at once. The manual
was one of the best I've seen and provided a wealth of information on the
game. And the entertainment value was superb.
ENTERTAINMENT: Sony PlayStation
Game Review: Power Serve 3D Tennis
Developer: Ocean
Publisher: Ocean
List Price: $59.95
Ease Of Play: Medium/Difficult
While tennis is one of my favorite sports to watch on TV, I've always been
looking for a good tennis video game. Years ago, Accolade created a tennis
game that was ok, but somewhat indifferent. So when Ocean came out with
Power Serve 3D Tennis, I was anxious to see how it fared. But even though
the graphics were good and the players movement was ok, it was the control of
the players and trying to hit the ball to your liking that made this game
player wanting more.
GAME PLAY
Power Serve 3D Tennis is basically a tennis game, where you are playing
another player controlled by either another player on the 2nd controller or
by the computer. You can play either singles or doubles on your choice of
hard, lawn or clay court. You have a good selection of game views. Just
press SELECT and START to see the different views. When you get to where you
want, then press SELECT again to play the perspective. YOu can also see
different camera angles during game play by hitting the R1 button each time.
Your list of players includes Andy Legacy and Bart Sunrise from the U.S.,
Steve Edwards from Sweeden, Mike Lee, who is a Japanese/American, Rusty
Guriffis from Germany, Angela Santos from Spain, Julia Cappuccino from
Argentina and Jumiko Abe from Japan. Of course all of these players are
finctional, but were most likely created from watching other famous tennis
players. What would have been nice, although it would have added the cost of
licensing, would have been to get actual players endorsements to be in this
game. Perhaps it could have made the game better.
ACTION
Game play needs some help. The controlling of the players and where to hit
the ball is very different. This game needs lots of time with it just to get
somewhat comformtable with directing the ball into the other side of the
court. For the first few weeks of game play, I lived with the manual open to
the section where it shows what control does what. For example, when you are
playing, you need to watch the ball and move your player over to the right
spot. Then using the controller, you must use the right stroke to get the
ball into the other side of the court. This sounds easy, but there are all
sorts of effects that could happen. Most of the time, the ball makes it to
the other side, but not in the spot you expect it to. After a few weeks of
play, you start to get a hang of the game, but your sore thumb and hand will
have you asking, "Is it worth it?"
The game does get fun at times when you volley back and forth with another
player who is just as good/bad as you are. This relieves the pressure of
worring what the computer may throw at you and allow you to have a good time
with Power Serve. When there are two of you who are just as confused with
game play, it makes it a bit more evened up and allows for the best
opportunity to get familiar with the game.
CONCLUSION
Tennis is not a popular sport for a video game, but if it's done right, it
can be fun. The potential that Power Serve 3D Tennis had was lost in the
complicated game play. The graphics and player movements were nice, but
overall, Power Serve 3D Tennis needs to be better if there is an upgrade or a
"II" version.
Graphics: 5.0
Sound FX/Music: 4.5
Control: 3.5
Manual: 3.5
Entertainment: 4.0
Reviewer's Overall: 4.0
The graphics were the best part of the game, giving life to the players.
There could have been more sounds effects to add to the game play. The
Control and Manual needed serious help in the eyes of this reviewer. The
entertainment value was ok, but the complicated game play took away the want
to play longer.
STR Editor's Mail Call "...a place for the readers to be heard"
Editor's MailBag
Messages * NOT EDITED * for content
ú NETSCAPE'S PROGRAMMER TELL US OFF!
From: Charles Manske <cmanske@netscape.com>
To: rmariano@streport.com
Subject: Arrogant attitude
Yea, I can tell you real unbiased:
>The users hold the solution in their hands. Let them decide which
>browser is the top banana. There is no doubt that Microsoft's
>Internet Explorer will dominate.
And I love the way IE associates every graphics file extension with itself
and destroys my associations with my graphics editing programs.
--
Charles Manske
NetscapeGold programmer cmanske@netscape.com
or at Third Eye Multimedia cm@third-eye.com
We are such things as dreams are made on.
Editor:
Hi Charles. glad to see you are reading our humble offerings. Do you
speak for Netscape? Or, is this your personal feelings?
ú User appreciates ENOUGH! article
Date: Thu, 15 Aug 1996 00:34:49 -0600
To: rmariano@streport.com
From: Daryl Shuttleworth <daryl.shuttleworth@bbs.logicnet.com>
Subject: Browser Wars
X-UIDL: 816aae31d40458df27acc95126988c9b
Nice article (CLUBIE: Browsers Wars). Definitely agree with your views
regarding the silly "war" that NS and MS are engaged in. Compatability is
the real issue.
I'm an IE user (ever since 2.0) and only use NS (2.01) to check how my web
pages look... but I'm even starting to give that process a toss. However,
IE3 shows signs of having some weaknesses (like Style Sheets not functioning
as they should).
I do see NS's concerns regarding MS and their next foray (IE4) into making
the Internet part and parcel of Win96/97. Apparently NS is in the midst of
suing MS (is this the first suit?).
Anyway, thought I'd pass along my views. Enjoyed yours.
email: daryl.shuttleworth@bbs.logicnet.com
Check out the refurbished Site (with ActiveX) @
http://www.logicnet.com/daryl.shuttleworth/index1.htm
Editor:
Hi Daryl. Good to hear form you and thank you for reading STReport. The
article was aimed at arousing public opinions. I am glad to see it has done
its job well. I appreciate and understand your points quite well.
ú EDITOR NEEDS A NEW JOB?
From: "Dave Burns" <dburns@IntNet.net>
To: <rmariano@streport.com>
Subject: Web Browser Wars - Enough!
Date: Fri, 2 Aug 1996 09:26:12 -0400
Ralph:
Just read your article at ClubIE.
I thought from the title that the point of the article would have been that
you were simply tired of all the press hype, and otherwise the myriad of
idle wanna be writers, who want to shove their opinions down the throats of
the readers regarding whose is the best browser.
I have lost interest in this argument, and thought yours would be a sort of
swan song by which I would finally find a cool-headed colleague to help
carry the torch away from the arena. But, clearly you have nothing better to
do with your time than to simply succumb and join the fray. Well, at least
it's clear whose side you're on and whose battle you're willing to fight.
I hope you find a good journalistic assignment soon, because you certainly
haven't contributed anything new or meaningful to this arena.
David Burns
Pinellas Park, FL
dburns@intnet.net
Editor:
David!! You express yourself so well. Congratulations for having the
chutzpah to say it like it is. Its a rare trait these days. Even if you
missed the mark by a million miles, you still said it like you saw it. Of
course Netscape may have appreciated your comments but now, after they fired
off another major salvo from their web site, I do believe the war is being
perpetuated. As for an assignment and future.. I have mine. Thank you for
your good wishes and for reading STReport.
ú STReport's "Crystal Ball" Does IT Again!
From: m.harvey@ix.netcom.com (Michael D. Harvey)
Subject: Atari..
To: rmariano@streport.com
Hello Ralph..
Well, it does appear that you were correct some time ago when you stated that
Atari was quitting the Video game market.. Just wanted to acknowledge that
your predictions have come true since it appears the Jaguar will only receive
possibly 3 more games ..if they make it out.
Also wanted to request that you continue the ASCII versions of ST Report.
I've been reading them for more years now than I'm starting to want to
acknowledge. Even keep a large number of them as resource info on various
products & services.. Got about 14 megs worth on my HD I think.
thanks Mike Harvey
Editor;
Mike, thanks for writing. As for the ASCII version of STReport at our
subscription page on our website. YES is the answer. Also, we now have a
selection box where the user may choose either the PDF edition with pictures,
charts, color and fonting or, the plain ASCII edition.
Special Notice!! STR Infofile File format Requirements for
Articles
File Format for STReport
All articles submitted to STReport for publication must be sent in the
following format. Please use the format requested. Any files received that
do not conform will not be used. The article must be in an importable word
processor format for Word 7.0.. The margins are .05" left and 1.0" Monospaced
fonts are not to be used. Please use proportional fonting only and at eleven
points.
ú No Indenting on any paragraphs!!
ú No Indenting of any lines or "special gimmickery"
ú No underlining!
ú Columns shall be achieved through the use of tabs only. Or, column
format in Word 6-7 Do NOT use the space bar.
ú No ASCII "ART"!!
ú There is no limits as to size, articles may be split into two if lengthy
ú Actual Artwork should be in GIF, PCX, JPG, TIF, BMP, WMF file formats
ú Artwork (pictures, graphs, charts, etc.)should be sent along with the
article separately
ú Please use a single font only in an article. TTF CG Times 12pt. is
preferred. (VERY Strong Hint)
If there are any questions please use either E-Mail or call.
On another note. the ASCII version of STReport is fast approaching the "end
of the line" As the major Online Services move away from ASCII.. So shall
STReport. All in the name of progress and improved readability. The amount
of reader mail expressing a preference for our Adobe PDF enhanced issue is
running approximately 15 to 1 over the ASCII edition. Besides, STReport will
not be caught in the old, worn out "downward compatibility dodge" we must
move forward. However, if the ASCII readership remains as high, rest
assured. ASCII will stay. Right now, since STReport is offered on a number
of closed major corporate networks as "required" Monday Morning reading.. Our
ascii readers have nothing to worry themselves about.
Many grateful thanks in advance for your enthusiastic co-operation and input.
Ralph F. Mariano, Editor
STReport International Online Magazine
Atari User Support
Jaguar/Computer Section
Dana Jacobson, Editor
From the Atari Editor's Desk "Saying it like it is!"
Since the majority of our focus this week deals with Atari and the Jaguar,
I'll forego my usual comments in this portion of the issue. Don't worry, I
more than make up for it the Jaguar portion!
Meanwhile, time to grab another beer and enjoy another incredible summer day.
Ahhhh, vacations....
Until next time...
Changes to CompuServe's Atari
Computer and Gaming Forums Seen Likely!
News Flash:
August 14
It's the end of an era....
Don Thomas, Atari representative, has announced his departure from Atari
(JTS) for a new position at Sony Computer Entertainment (the Playstation
people). Our other "Don", Don Lebow, who has been functioning as the lead
sysop of the Atari Forums for the past year or so, will be moving on to
greener online pastures.
We have nothing but the best wishes and fondest farewells to both "dons" and
want them to know that they will always be welcome in any of our online areas
on CompuServe.
With barely a handful of folks left in the Atari division at JTS and new
directions in store for that company as well as the CompuServe Information
Service, we expect to make additional announcements regarding the future of
this forum in the weeks ahead. Please stay tuned for further details and be
advised that we will be VERY receptive to any feedback from our most valued
membership.
Ron Luks, Founder and Manager of the Atari Forums on CompuServe
Jaguar Section
Atari's Don Thomas To Go To Sony!
Farewells & Reminiscing! Exclusive
Interview with Don!
Fight For Life - Review!
From the Editor's Controller - Playin' it like it is!
This issue is going to come across as either a suck-up or a memoriam to Don
Thomas. Trust me, it's neither. It's a tribute to a gentleman who has
earned the kudos he's received. It's a sad day for Atari users, especially
those of us who have been around the scene for awhile. A couple of weeks
ago, in my editorial, I announced the "death" of Atari after the finality of
the Atari/JTS merger.
It got worse, if that's possible. I don't know where to begin, or really
what to say. Up until a few days ago, there were FIVE employees at Atari.
That's right, I did say five. And now there are four. If you haven't heard
yet, Don Thomas has officially left. Don has moved on and has accepted a
position at Sony Computer Entertainment - the Playstation folks.
It's sad, but I really feel elated that Don has latched on with Sony, a
company that is extremely viable and knows what needs to be done to promote
its products (and with the means to do so). I give Don a lot of credit for
sticking with Atari through the bad times, promoting the company and
products. Unofficially, Don was _the_ Atari spokesman (or spokesperson for
the PC-challenged) for Atari. Don was informative, active, forthcoming and
honest while maintaining his integrity at Atari.
Yes, he towed the company line, but he let you know that up-front. Maybe it
was his customer service background or possibly he "learned" from the
mistakes of some of his "predecessors"; or maybe it was just the way that he
was as a person. Whatever the reason, Atari was lucky to have him for as
long as it did - as were we. Sony will soon realize how fortunate they are
to have hired him.
It's only deserving, after a 3-plus-year working relationship, that we give
Don the credit he's earned. I may not be the best-suited to do so, but I do
want offer some tribute to Don - he earned my respect and admiration from the
very beginning.
My first contact with Don Thomas came a little over three years ago. The
Jaguar was just getting started and I was looking for the means to
supplement the Atari portion of STReport. As many of you will likely recall,
STReport usually had a stormy relationship with corporate Atari, as well as
some lower down the ladder. Quite often, STReport was at odds with the
different philosophies; and, we always maintained our "say it like it is"
reporting - usually to the dismay of those at Atari. This usually meant that
we were "on our own" with regard to getting first-hand information from
Atari, review products, and other press accommodations.
I wanted to attempt to change that. Figuring that the worse that could
happen was a rejection, I called Don Thomas. We had never met nor spoken to
each other in the past. We had a long phone conversation and we discussed my
proposals for additional coverage in STReport for the Jaguar. I outlined my
plans, goals, and likely needs from Atari in order to do what I considered to
be a good job. Don listened and was frank about his fears of "supporting"
STReport because of its "reputation".
It's my opinion, and he may have said so at the time, he knew that it was
important for the Atari online userbase to get as much news and information
about the Jaguar as possible. STReport, being a well-established online
magazine with an international reach; it was obvious we needed each other.
Don promised to consider my proposals and get back to me quickly. He did.
Atari, as I quickly learned, was a "go through proper channels" company. It
was no different in this regard. Don called me a day or two after our
initial conversation - I "was in". I would be the contact person for
STReport and Don would be the primary contact person at Atari. I was added
to online mailing list as well as the public relations firm's mailing list;
and we were added to the Jaguar product-review program.
All that Don asked for in return was that we'd be fair and honest in our
reporting. I told Don.. "that type of reporting" had always been my goal
(I'm sure that Don, or someone at Atari checked out the next few issues to be
sure!). That was the beginning of a terrific working relationship. And, it
grew. There was always an e-mail waiting somewhere. The "sends" during Jeff
Norwood's conferences on CompuServe! The phone calls were always interesting
and enjoyable! When we weren't discussing Atari or the Jaguar, we were
telling jokes - usually 'sick' ones. Some of the conversations were
outrageous.
Lots of family stuff - his son's soccer and my wife's "just outta earshot"
comments reacting to what she thought we were talking about. The countless
talks about what the PR firm(s) weren't doing to help anyone out, and Don
having to fix it (like he didn't have enough to do!). The "what you always
wondered what they really thought about some callers" at Customer Service
ramblings! Oh, and there was plenty more. And there was the serious stuff
also. We'd talk at least once a week - one of us would call the other to
make sure I had the latest info before our issues came out.
The red tape trying to get some games for review, and the frustration that we
both felt because of the delays. The "off the record" info provided to help
me understand what was happening so that when the info did become public (to
a degree) I'd be able to write about it intelligently. The numerous CATnips.
STReport's role with the short-lived JagWire campaign. The contests and
prizes (the Jaguar banner winner never claimed his prize!!). The list goes
on...
Don represented Atari extremely well. He was often the victim of "shooting
the messenger" but he bore it well. I knew what he was experiencing,
first-hand. He was active in so many ways, putting in long hours even when
he was home. He worked hard to help the users, and make the Jaguar
experience enjoyable.
And now, the Sony Playstation users will benefit...
I know I speak for most everyone when I say the experience was a good one.
Don, you should be proud of your work at Atari. On a personal slant, I'm
glad to have worked with you with regard to STReport. More importantly, it's
been a great experience knowing you and I know it will continue to grow long
after Atari and STReport are but memories.
Now....about that dinner invitation...
Industry News STR Game Console NewsFile - The Latest Gaming News!
CATnips from Don Thomas - Epilogue....
You may like to know that I have submitted my resignation to Atari and have
determined that Thursday, August 15 will be my final day.
I have been at Atari since November 1989. I helped launch the Portfolio,
which enjoyed tremendous success early in it's life cycle. Later, I took on
the role as a specialist and helped represent Portfolio technology at
specialty trade shows, key account presentations and in exclusive development
scenarios. More recently, I have streamlined an effective customer service
department pursuant to the resources afforded by corporate direction. During
much of this time, I have made every effort to be accessible and active on
CompuServe as well as GEnie, Prodigy, our Web Site and a BBS I maintained
privately in my home.
Prior to Atari, I worked at Federated Electronics stores and was known within
the organization for my prejudice for Atari brand computers and games. Much
of my software library was provided to Federated as samples and the software
buyer asked me to test the latest titles.
I purchased my first Atari product in the early 80's. The 2600 was financed
on my First Visa Card from a Video Concept store in Dallas, Texas. I was so
impressed with the technology that I taught myself programming and developed
a newspaper delivery game to present to my employer, the Dallas Times Herald,
long before Paperboy ever hit the coin-op arcades. Only the crash of the
video game industry in the mid 80's kept me from entering the industry during
those years.
My first computer was the TI99/4a and, later, the Commodore 64. But it wasn't
until I opened an Atari 400 box in my apartment that I developed a passion
and soon found myself hoarding every cool thing I could find. From Scott
Adam's adventures to my MPP1000c modem and Rana disk drives, I was virtually
possessed.
After the Tramiels took over Atari, I bought into their 16-bit computer line
hook, line and sinker.... and never regretted a single moment.
When the Tramiels acquired Federated in the late 80's, I thought I died and
went to heaven. For the first time, I met the likes of Neil Harris and Mr.
Jack Tramiel himself. During the day, I helped expand Atari exposure in
Atari's new chain of electronic stores. At night I honed my programming
skills into a line of software I called Artisan Software. I successfully,
released a total of 5 titles under that label, all for Atari 16-bit
computers.
In 1989, Atari was compelled to discontinue Federated operations and my
career became a casualty in Jack's business war. While seeking employment
anywhere I could, I dedicated time and energies into the Atari Revolution...
a grass roots movement dedicated to foster word-of-mouth for Atari's fine
line of products. In November, Atari hired me back and I met Bob Brodie,
Frank Foster and a brigade of personalties who have long left a permanent
mark in the historical remembrances of the world's longest surviving home
computer/video game company.
On August 26, I will be joining the professionals at Sony Computer
Entertainment. As you undoubtedly know, the Sony Playstation is America's
number one choice in next generation technology. After examining the
opportunities that are out there, the PSX looks to me to be the most
promising long term video game investment and I am proud to become part of
the PSX team.
Atari, the name and the products is directly responsible for so many things
in my life. Inclusive are personal development and the acquisition lifelong
friends. The Tramiel family is equally responsible for having enriched my
life with wisdoms that I will forever value. There will always be a special
part of my heart for Atari. There will always be an envy that I wasn't there
during more glorious days and always I will take pride in knowing that I
worked my hardest during Atari's most difficult times.
As you undoubtedly know, Atari has just completed a merger with JTS; a
reputable supplier of hard disk drive technologies. The terms of the merger
relegates Atari as a division of JTS and no longer is Atari an independent
corporate entity. Shares of stock are now traded by the symbol JTS. Atari's
staff as of next week will consist effectively of 4 people; all of which are
among the most proud and honorable I have ever known.
On behalf of Atari, past and present, thank you to everyone who supported us.
Atari will always be an institution in our hearts remembering the evolution
of Pong, Asteroids, Star Raiders, Major Havoc, Millipede and many more. Look
for Atari's afterlife in licensed titles for other systems.
I have every intention to continue frequenting the Atari support areas and
you will no doubt find me popping up in a PSX forum near you! I'll look
forward to seeing you there.
-- Don Thomas@Atari
[Editor's note: online reaction to Don's career move can be found in this
section's "Online Users Growl & Purr!" area]
Jaguar Game Title STR Review - "Fight for Life"
"Fight for Life"
by Joe Mirando
Developed by: Atari Corporation
Published by: Atari Corporation
Price: $69.99
-= Available Now =-
Rating : TEEN (age 13+)
Genre : Fighter
# of Players : 1 or 2
Save Feature : High Score and Password Only
They are the perennial video game favorites... fighting games. You know...
those games where the main object is to beat your opponent to a moist pulp in
the name of whatever force the programmers decided to write into the game.
That's all fine and good. It's a good way to relieve stress and sharpen your
hand-eye coordination without actually hurting anyone. The advances in game
technology in the past several years have made these games both more
enjoyable and more challenging.
The latest of these games on other platforms have incorporated features such
as 'roving cameras' and players capable of more than just one or two moves.
Atari brings these new features to the Jaguar in the form of FIGHT FOR LIFE,
a game in which you are any one of several "ex-mortals" who must fight each
of the others and win in order to be granted a second life on earth. While
this premise gets you into a suitably depressed mood, it is quite unnecessary
to the game. While how you died is not specifically stated, you get the
impression that it was quite painful.
The opening screen allows you to select which play mode ad camera option you
wish to use. The play modes are as follows:
Beginner:
This mode is where you get used to the game. You can fight all of the other
characters (except the GateKeeper) and simplifies the execution of the
combination moves.
Practice:
A two-player mode that uses the same simplified combo moves as the Beginner
Mode. It's one match only.
Tournament:
One player against the Jaguar... this one's for all the beans!
Two-Player:
Fight-to-the-finish mode. Just you and a friend beating the stuffing out of
each other 'till one of you doesn't get up.
Rolling Camera:
The camera moves around the arena so that Player One is always on the left
side of the screen.
Static Camera:
The camera isn't so much static as it is ambivalent to the position of Player
One.
So now let's take a look at the game itself. After selecting your preferred
mode of difficulty and whether you want rolling or static camera, you are
greeted with the character selection screen. While in One-Player modes
characters are presented in pairs. Even though you are concerned only with
your own character, I found it annoying that I couldn't choose the opponent
as well (it really doesn't matter because you are going to end up fighting
them all anyway... if you're lucky).
The characters you can choose are:
Kimura, the Japanese Ninja.
He's fast, strong, and good at 'aerial' moves.
Ian, the Soldier.
He's a powerhouse, but slow.
Kara, the American Mother.
She's fast, flexible and strong.
Pog, the Dock Worker.
He's strong and fast.
Mr. G., the Professional Boxer
His punches carry lots of force.
Muhali, the Arabian Fighter.
This one fights dirty... lots of kicks and elbows to the stomach.
Jenny, Worldwide Girl.
She's fast and agile.
Lun, the Kung Fu Master
Fast and very acrobatic.
Once you pick your character (and your first opponent), you move on to the
tournament field where you must beat each opponent you face in a 2-out-of-3
bout. The tournament field is a square patch which seems to float above the
rest of the scenery. With the electrified field around the field (to keep
you from running away), it looks like an anti-gravity boxing arena as
designed by Peter Max.
This is where the rolling camera comes into play. As you move about the
field, the camera follows you and zooms in and out to give you the best
possible view. While this may be the latest high-tech advancement, it annoys
me. The alternative is to set the camera option to static mode. The camera
will still move to follow the action, but it will no longer move so that te
player using control pad "1" is always on the left side of the screen. This
allows you to play the game without suffering from vertigo.
Each character also has special moves in his or her repertoire. The only
(and I do mean only) interesting twist in this game is that you can steal two
"specialty" moves from each opponent you beat. So at the end of the game you
have accumulated 14 extra moves for use in your battle with the "GateKeeper",
the reason you are here in the first place.
Since I've never been able to stay interested in the game long enough to
finish it, I can't tell you anything about the duel with the GateKeeper...
Sorry.
Play may be paused at any time by pressing the PAUSE button. This also
enables you to replay the bout as you would a VCR tape. While in PAUSE
mode, using the left and right controls move you backward and forward through
the action. Keys 1 through 6 allow you to change your viewing angle and zoom
in and out of the action and the 8 key allows you to change the song that is
currently playing. There is nothing ground-breaking about the music, so I
won't cover the songs except to say that none of the tunes are as annoying as
the rolling camera.
The basic moves for each character is simple: Press "down" to squat, "A" to
avoid an attack, "B" to kick, "C" to punch, and "up" to jump. Aside from
these "generic" moves, each character has its own cache of special moves.
Most of these are "combination" moves. For instance, when fighting as Ian,
pressing left, down, right, A, will result in a bear hug for your opponent.
Atari saved us the torment of trying to figure out what these moves are by
listing them in the manual which is the standard-issue in english, french,
and german.
Now let's take an over-all look at the game. The characters are blocky,
low-resolution forms that show very little detail. The replay option is
muted by this fact and, on zooming in to a close up of the characters, they
are formed remarkably like the cartoon figures from the Dire Straits "MTV"
video. hey are polygon-styled forms that may have provided an easy way for
the designers to manipulate the characters, but they detract from the game to
a very large degree.
The fact that the characters are constantly redrawn as they move allows you
to turn the playing field around so that you can see the scene from any
vantage point and, therefore, the backs and sides of the figures. The
downside is that, since the characters are redrawn as they move, the controls
are usually sluggish and moves are often missed. In conjunction with the
poor graphic quality, this keeps Fight for Life from being an enviable game.
Although innovative (on the Jaguar), the roving camera and fully-formed
characters ultimately detract from the game.
This combination of shortcomings makes manipulation of the characters
difficult and I often found myself forsaking the combination moves in favor
of simply "slugging it out" with the opponent. This is something I never did
in Ultra Vortek and was surprised to find myself doing it in this game.
One gets the feeling that this game was "rushed out the door" before it could
be optimized and tightened up to allow for smoother control and sharper
graphics (even if only marginally). I find it hard to believe that a game
console with the power of the Jaguar could provide this kind of weak
performance under any other circumstances. Adding to this impression is the
fact that there don't seem to be any "cheat codes" in the game. Half the fun
of a Jaguar game is finding the cheat codes and using them to impress the
heck out of your friends and yourself.
Considering the title of the game, I had hoped for quite a bit more as a way
to "Fight for Life" for the Jaguar.
STReport Game Scoreboard
Graphics 4.0
Sound 7.0
Music 6.0
Manual 5.0
Control 3.0
Overall 5.0
Unless you are desperate for a second fighting game, pass this one over in
favor of Ultra Vortek.
Jaguar Online STR InfoFile - Online Users Growl & Purr!
Reaction to the resignation of Atari's Don Thomas came swiftly. Here are a
few comments and well-wishes from CompuServe's Atari Gaming Forum:
Sb: #116777-#CATnips (epilog)
Fm: Barry Stubbs 100441,2737
To: Don Thomas 75300,1267 (X)
It's sad to see you go Don, but i'm pleased for you that your career is now
with a more stable company.Even during my persecution <g> of you over an
international order you were the ultimate professional.
Very best of luck with your new job.
Baz
Fm: Larry Tipton 74127,601
To: Don Thomas 75300,1267 (X)
Don,
You've been perhaps the greatest asset to this forum and to Atari for quite
some time in my mind. I have enjoyed reading your posts for a long time as
well as chatting with you online. I'm glad to see that you've found another
position in the industry. The Sony Playstation is a fine piece of work. :)
I look forward to seeing you pop into one of my favorite hang outs on CSERVE.
Hint, Hint. ;)
--Larry
Fm: Mitch Brown 73522,3004
To: Don Thomas 75300,1267 (X)
I am glad for you Don. Good luck with your new job, and I hope to see you
again here every once in a while.
Do you know if anybody else from JTS/Atari will be maintaining a presence
here?
Mitch
Demand Systems
Fm: John Trautschold 71333,1003
To: Don Thomas 75300,1267
Don...
The very best of luck to you. Enjoy your new job at Sony!
You've been a most gracious contributor to the forum's here and elsewhere.
Thank you for the great deals, the great information, and for putting up
with everything you've had to put up with! :-)
Darn! Too bad you couldn't have put together one last "Wacky Deal" before
leaving!
(I wonder if there's any significance to the fact that you're leaving on my
birthday! Hmmm...)
John
Fm: Peter Richards 100354,1775
To: Don Thomas 75300,1267 (X)
G'day Don,
Just read your message, and felt my heart sink... I want to thank you for
your help over the past couple of years, including shipping me one of the
first JAG's to Australia (which was kinda bending the rules a bit at the
time), where they have never actually been released.
I have had a lot of fun with it over the years, as well as my other Atari
stuff, starting like yourself with a spanking new 400 way back in '81, even
had a collection of 'Atari Force' comics.
I am really sorry to see you leave Atari, that kinda marks the end of it for
me, I am however VERY pleased to see you taking an exciting new career over
at Sony!
I have spent many hours glued to my PSX, and also do work related to Sony
Imageworks, as well as 3D graphics development for the PSX, so you might be
hearing from me!
If you are ever in Australia, feel free to drop in for a game of
Asteroids...the Quarters are on me.
Farewell from Atariland, and good luck with Sony
Hope to see you around,
-Peter
Kinetix/Autodesk Australia
peter.richards@autodesk.com
Fm: Daniel Skelton 73742,464
To: Don Thomas 75300,1267 (X)
Hello, goodbye,
Well, as a similarly-inclined long-time Atariphile, let me add my regrets,
congratulations, and best wishes at your departure from Atari and arrival at
Sony. I understand fully your decision to depart; indeed, the way things
went around here I had often wondered how you could hang in there so long.
You have answered our questions when you could, taken undeserved abuse when
you could not, and never failed to present the best face forward for your
company no matter how bleak the circumstances.
Not only were you lucky to have worked at Atari; Atari was lucky to have had
you working for it. The best of luck to you in your new endeavor, and I
hope that Sony knows they are getting a superior new employee who will
undoubtedly improve their product line.
Filling out the holes in my Jaguar Collection...
Dan Skelton
Antique Videogame Aficionado and Proud Jaguar Owner
Fm: Richard Turner 100771,2457
To: Don Thomas 75300,1267
Hi.
I'm VERY sorry to see you leave Atari Don, but good luck for he future. You
represented a real enthusiast in a company which needed them, and I guess
that any firm would be lucky to get someone so "wired-in".
Now a couple of questions?
a) Does you departure mean Atari publishing IS over? I notice that you say
"Atari afterlife" which sounds final.
b) If you're not updating JAG-WIRE, will it disappear now?
c) Will anyone tell us anything about Atari soon- ever? That is, should we
look out for an official Atari "bye-bye"?
Many (many) regards, Richard.
(http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/rj_turner/jaghome.htm )
Fm: [ICD, Inc.] 76004,1600
To: Don Thomas 75300,1267
Well said Don.
I have enjoyed working with you over the years in supporting the Atari cause.
I consider you a good friend with unquestionable ethics (which is hard to
find these days). You have always deserved better and it sounds like you may
be getting there.
Good luck, congratulations, and all that. :-)
- TOM -
Fm: Ron Luks (SYSOP) 76703,254
To: Don Thomas 75300,1267
Don:
Hearing that you are moving from Atari to Sony is the single, best reason
I've heard yet to buy a Playstation.
Congrats on the new job.
Warmest regards,
Ron Luks
Fm: Tom Kilbride 103504,2400
To: Don Thomas 75300,1267 (X)
For selfish reasons, I'm sorry to hear about your new position. Your
messages were the #1 reason for my participation here.
However I am pleased that someone as fine as you has hooked up with a giant
like Sony. I hope you prosper there and are recognized for your value and
talents -- and given an opportunity to develop your potential.
Thanks for supplying us with Atari information "straight from the horses
mouth." You've made the CIS experience worthwhile.
Fm: SNAP347 103625,1027
To: Don Thomas 75300,1267 (X)
Well, you might be tired of hearing farewell but farewell, mein friend...
You've done so much for the whole Atari community and Classic Atari OnLine
and I thank for that. I could have never started CAO without you and I'm
sure this forum wouldn't have thrived as it did without you. Thank you for
putting in the extra hours that you didn't have to (you probably sold a few
Jaguars by doing that) and thanks for putting up with my flack for the last 6
mo. or so. Now go kick some Nintendo/Sega butt with Sony!!!!
You will not be forgotten,
David Schmudde
Classic Atari OnLine
STReport Exclusive
"Last Days at Atari"
Interview - Don Thomas
by Dana P. Jacobson
"A Look Back, the present, and the future..."
ú STR: After leaving Atari/Federated, how did you come to be hired by
Atari?
ú DT: When I left Atari, I kept in touch with Jim Fisher and Sam Tramiel.
Jim once told me that Sam really urged him to hire me back. I was surprised
to hear that, but honored.
ú STR: What was your initial role at Atari?
ú DT: I started at Atari running a specialized operation to sell and
support the Portfolio. Functions sometimes duplicated similar functions
elsewhere in the company, but it was focused just on Portfolio. Atari was
initially very successful with the Portfolio.
ú STR: What led you to become an Atari computer user? What machine(s) did
you use?
ú DT: I first bought a TI99/4a to develop a prototype game I imagined for
the Atari 2600. TI was running a special and it looked to be the best value
at the time. Within a few months, I was successful with my prototype and came
close to selling it to Apollo and then to Telesys, but both companies
suffered from the video game collapse of the mid 80's and so did my game
idea. I discovered that the TI was too expensive to expand, so I went out and
got a Commodore 64. After struggling with it for a while, friends at work
convinced me to buy an Atari. I eventually got a 400 and fell in love.
ú STR: What was The Atari Revolution and what led you to start the
"campaign"?
ú DT: I saw the dedication a lot of die-hards had for the Atari name, but
I also saw it was raw and without guidance. I had a theory that if someone
harnessed that energy, it could be put to work to help foster positive word
of mouth for Atari.
ú STR: You had five successful products with regard to Artisan Software,
what were they?
ú DT: "Word Quest" was a word search puzzle generator. "Word Quest 2"
was a crossword puzzle generator. "Graph Maker" was a graphing generator.
"Transport" helped transfer files between the Portfolio and an Atari
16-bitcomputer. My "fifth" title is actually a lump total of companion disks
and combo packs as well as some shareware font files, etc.
ú STR: Why did you stop programming (i.e., end Artisan)?
ú DT: There's no point to refueling a car if the tires are all flat. <g>
I was running several expensive ads and enjoying a pretty good return for a
long time. At some point STart Magazine published a clone of my best selling
program and orders dived. At some time later, a UK magazine actually
published Word Quest by calling it something else on the cover disk (the
graphics still said Word Quest) and orders dived again. My hottest catalog
(E.Arthur Brown) went away and soon I had to cancel my ads because they were
not paying off any more.
ú STR: In your opinion, what led to the "demise" of Atari computers?
ú DT: Lower PC prices. When you get down to it, people buy computers to
do the same things they do in the office and, if possible, using the same
applications they use in the office. When Atari computers and Commodore
computers were big, they were so affordable that all the inconveniences were
secondary. When PCs became affordable, the toys were set aside for more
"compatible" alternatives. Eventually, the only way Atari and Commodore could
compete was to drop prices to bar
e bones. That worked for a while, but bare
bones also means minimal or no marketing because the funds to pay for them
come from margins. Less marketing rapidly contributed to less exposure and it
all snowballed to an inevitable and unavoidable ending. Now, even Apple is
suffering a lot from similar problems.
ú STR: What do you feel Atari could have done differently to have been
successful with them?
ú DT: Decided early on that they would never conquer the world and scale
back to fulfill no more than niche markets....specialize in those markets and
work them better than mass market computers can.
ú STR: What impact did the "end of Atari computers" have on you
personally, and at Atari?
ú DT: Personally? I felt bad, but I was already well on my way with a PC
package at home. I had to do be competitive, informed and valuable to my
employer and entities my employer worked with. I never once had an ad
agency ask me to send data files to them in an Atari ST format. Atari? They
lost a potential to milk a technology for profit. That kind of loss hurts any
company when they have to make such decisions.
ú STR: Your impressions of the success and failures of the Portfolio and
Lynx?
ú DT: Long stories. Limited time. Portfolio had to be mass produced to
justify price reductions. Mass production hindered competitive upgrades. HP
had advantages over Atari in that they already had wide PC-based distribution
channels to move product into and through quickly. Atari only had mail order
for a long time. Lynx suffered because Atari did not have a successful
platform system at the time of launch. Handhelds are secondary and are nice
add-on product lines, but it's hard to make money on them as stand-alone
products in someone's product catalog.
ú STR: What did you think of Atari's decision to devote all of its
resources to the Jaguar and disengage itself from all other products?
ú DT: I believed it was long overdue. From a business point of view, I
believed Atari should have abandoned proprietary hardware very early on in
the nineties and started developing and marketing software for existing and
already successful systems. I'm sure that feeling is not popular among
devotees, but clearly what happened didn't work long term either. Atari
should have done Missile Command 3D, Tempest 2000 and all the Jaguar's best
for Saturn and PSX. We were never poised to go up to a [Sony] $500 million
marketing budget to promote the PSX. Another option may have been to develop
an economical add-on "Jaguar" gaming card for PCs.
ú STR: What do you feel were the Jaguar's highlights, and low points?
ú DT: Highlight's are definitely all the exclusive software. AvP is cool.
Tempest 2000 is cool. Defender 2000 is cool. Iron Soldier, I-War and others
are no less than a lot of fun. Low points for me was virtually the whole
time. There was never a time that our phones weren't clogged with some genius
wanting to suggest we publish more software faster. What a concept! <g>
ú STR: What do you feel were the reasons why developers didn't flock to
the Jaguar and put out games?
ú DT: Money.
ú STR: The reason(s) developers moved away from the Jaguar?
ú DT: Money.
ú STR: What was Atari's goal with the Jaguar?
ú DT: To make money.
ú STR: Realistically, what was the Jaguar's chances for success? Why do
you feel the Jaguar didn't sell and become successful?
ú DT: People buy hype. All our money was in the technology. Sony had
enough to put the money into the technology AND hype.
ú STR: Many on the outside felt that the initial [recent] and subsequent
layoffs at Atari were the signs of "the beginning of the end" - do you agree
with that assesment? Why or why not?
ú DT: The beginning of the end was when Warner was losing $2 million each
day at Atari in the early 80's. The Tramiels gave the Atari name a new
beginning and were singly responsible for putting Atari in a position that
allowed us to enjoy 16-bit computers, Lynxs, Portfolios, Jaguars and more.
The most recent layoffs and exits are not signs of the beginning of the end,
they are symptoms of an end that has already been.
ú STR: What factor(s) led to Atari's decision to "abandon" the Jaguar? In
your opinion, what/when was the turning point?
ú DT: First off, I am unaware of any announcement that Atari may have
made that they have "abandoned the Jaguar". While it may appear that way AND
I do not have recent evidence to refute such conclusions, I am not prepared
to make such a statement in Atari's behalf. In general, manufacturers
"abandon" products that no one buys any more.
ú STR: What is your assessment of the future of console gaming? Has it
"peaked" again? Has computer gaming caught up and become a factor?
ú DT: Console gaming will always have it's ups and downs. Generations
grow up with a system and then anything new seems relatively trivial. It
takes all new generations of young people to be hyped into something new that
isn't pushed on to them buy their older brothers (and sisters). While adults
say now they grew up with Atari, Intellivision and Coleco, the teenagers of
today will someday say they grew up with Nintendo, Sega and Sony.
ú STR: Atari Interactive appeared to be a logical direction to take; what
happened to it?
ú DT: Atari Interactive was a marketing concept by a man, (Ted Hoff), who
left the company before the concept was launched. Once he left, it was
decided to review that way of marketing PC software and other alternatives
were examined again. I think Atari was right not to go forward.
ú STR: What do you feel was the compelling factor for Atari's seeking
alternatives (buyout, sellout, merger)?
ú DT: Money.
ú STR: Realistically, was there any hope for the Jaguar and Atari
Interactive to continue?
ú DT: At one time, yes.
ú STR: What are JTS' plans for Atari, if any?
ú DT: I know of no announced plans by JTS with regard to Atari or Atari
products.
ú STR: Is Atari "dead"?
ú DT: Not in my mind.
ú STR: What led you to leave Atari/JTS?
ú DT: Money.
ú STR: What will your role be at Sony?
ú DT: I will be working for Bill Rehbock in the Developer Support area.
I intend to remain active online, so I will express more when I can.
ú STR: What do you think of Sony's future (the Playstation)?
ú DT: I feel strong enough about it to base my career on it.
ú STR: What will it feel like supporting a former competitor, and a likely
"contributor" to the Jaguars 'demise?
ú DT: It already feels wonderful. I've done my very best and now I will
do my best again. I take a lot of pride in doing a job as well as I possibly
can. Playing video games along the way is a wonderful bonus. Now, not only
can I play my classic favorites on great Atari systems, I can also get into
new innovations of a system which is considered popular today.
ú STR: What do you feel was your greatest accomplishment as an Atari
employee?
ú DT: Probably having designed, developed, installed and maintained an
order entry system for Customer
ú Service in flawless operation since April of '93.
ú STR: What was your most memorable moment while at Atari?
ú DT: Winning a trip to the Caribbean at a year-end Holiday drawing for
the company.
ú STR: Your worst experience?
ú DT: Working Customer Service single-handedly.
ú STR: What will you miss most after leaving Atari?
ú DT: Jack Tramiel, Sam Tramiel, Leonard Tramiel, Garry Tramiel, John
Skruch, David Bajer, Linda Haldorson, Sammy Delgado, Scott Sanders,
Hans-Martin Kroeber, Gayle McKim, Barbara Castillo, Mark Castillo, Ted Hoff,
Jeanne Winding, Christine Chambers, Frank Foster, Laury Scott, Ron Beltramo,
Li Kramer, Shirley Taylor, Candy Rives, Mel Stevens, James Grunke, Francois
Bertrand, Manual Sousa, Tal Funke Bilu, Lynn Latz, Julie Wade, Bruce Coleman,
Mark Jansen, Eric Smith, Doug Brown, Gene Dias, Bob Brodie, Dennis Hawker,
John Jainschigg, Patty Iwasa, Claudia Katz, Michael Katz, Neil Harris, Ted
Tacquechi, Lance Lewis, Greg Pratt, Augie Liguori, Sam Zender, Kat Tyson,
Denise Rives, Diane Goralczyk, Carol Bennett, Carolyn Smith, Tom Gillen, Tom
Trans, Renee Silveria, Arnold Galano, Sandy LaBrec, J Patton, Bobby Murray,
John Feagans, Richard Miller, Gabriella Diffley, David Schwartz, Leslie
Schmick and so many more.
ú STR: Miss least?
ú DT: "So when is AvP coming out?"
ú STR: The "Atari press" - what is your feeling to it overall? The
"non-Atari specific" press?
ú DT: I wish there was more of it, but those things tend to evolve around
the demand for them. I do think the non-Atari specific press overly favors
advertisers, but it would be silly to ask them to ignore their bread and
butter. Overall they do great jobs and most of them may have done a lot more
in behalf of Atari if Atari adopted more liberal policies to deal with them.
ú STR: How do you feel Atari will be remembered in the "history books"?
ú DT: Not enough. I've been reviewing a lot of books for one I'm working
on and Atari is unfairly understated as to their role in the evolution of
home computers and video games.
ú STR: How would you like to be remembered?
ú DT: Good grief. I'm not dead yet. <g>
ú STR: You're currently writing a book about the gaming industry, with
Atari as a major player. Can you give our readers an idea of what the book
will entail? Any idea as to when it may be finished, and possibly available?
ú DT: It's already two years in the making and 400 pages. It's in
chronological format and a cause of many
ú sleepless nights. <g> I may never finish it at the rate I'm going. <g>
ú STR: Additional comments?
ú DT: Good night.
ONLINE WEEKLY STReport OnLine The wires are a hummin'!
PEOPLE... ARE TALKING
On CompuServe
compiled by
Joe Mirando
CIS ID: 73637,2262
Hidi ho friends and neighbors. I'm sorry that I didn't have a column for you
last week, but when I got back from vacation I found that our customers
really missed us. So I've been working 12 hour shifts to get caught up. It
hasn't been easy, but we're beginning to catch up. As is usually the case,
the times that I'm the busiest are the times that the most interesting
things are going on. For instance, after I make an off-handed comment to
someone asking about Oasis, our old friend, Lloyd Pulley, jumps in and we
have a nice little discussion.
We'll see the discussion just a few messages in. Let's get on with it.
Ready... set... go!
From the Atari Computing Forums
On the subject of Oasis, one of the Atari ST web browsers, Wout Vanloffeld
asks:
"CAN SOMEONE GET THIS THING STARTED???????...I sit in front of an Atari
screen that is telling me that I'm connected to CompuServe... but nothing
more than that."
Having attempted to do just that, I tell Wout:
"I've tried, friend... boy, have I tried. You get a connection message??? I
am jealous! <grin> I've put Oasis aside until the next version comes
out... I just don't have the time to devote to that amount of
disappointment. There are many folks who do have it working. I've gotten
several ICE.NET files from some of these folks, and had even less success
than you. I will post here when the new version comes out and I've had a
chance to play with it."
Wout posts:
"...It can't be *that* difficult to write a PPP program."
I post another line of thought to Wout:
"Perhaps the biggest problem is not simply writing a PPP program, but writing
a PPP program that will run well on an 8 MHz 68000 CPU... It is my
understanding that PPP makes use of both error-checking and compression.
That's a lot of overhead for an 8MHz machine (I'm assuming). I think that,
in the forseable future, IBM clones will be the standard. For a while, I
believe that they will be the only "serious" choice. But I also believe that
before too long someone will come out with the "next generation" of computers
and will do to IBM clones what IBM clones have done to us (and to the Amiga
and the Mac). That will probably happen about a week after you and I
finally make the jump from Atari to PC. <grin>
All I can say is that, if your Atari still does what you need it to do, keep
on using it. I like the machine I'm using now and I don't know if I'd make
the jump to a PC even if I could afford it. Right now, the only thing I
can't do that I'd like to be able to is access the Internet (and even that I
can do easily on another service, although without the graphics). Enjoy
your "vintage" computer."
This is where Lloyd comes in and replies:
"We're in agreement on this one. One of these days the IBM will be the one
left in the dust. Who knows, it might even be Apple that'll make the
comeback and do it to them - or it might be some unknown (as of now) company.
It all goes in cycles. Even though I am now a 'PC weenie' myself, I'd
probably still own and be using my ST if I'd had a local place to get it
fixed (at a reasonable price). But when the internal floppy and both
monitors (color and mono) all decided to 'bite the dust' at about the same
time, it was time to replace it. I fought against making the change for
years, but was forced to.
While I loved my ST and would still be using it if it hadn't went 'belly up',
with what I know now, I would never go back to it. That _true_ Internet
access is "worth the price of admission" - IMO. When I had my ST, it was
_MY_ system. I used it 98% of the time. My wife almost never used it and my
son only used it when he had to - for word processing for school. And even
then he complained because it wasn't like the computers/software that he had
to use at school.
Now with the PC, you almost have to make an appointment to use it
(seriously). My wife has her favorite web sites that she HAS to visit, if
not daily, at least 3-4 times a week "Honey, do you think they've posted any
new recipes since yesterday?" "Honey, did you check my e-mail to see if my
sister or mother had sent me any?" And my son? The guy that used to make
fun of people spending time on the computer and net has turned into a real
'computer nerd'! He now spends 3-5 hours a day on the net chatting with
people all over the world and would spend longer if I'd let him - it's _MY_
computer, I want to use it sometimes! <g>) He studies both Portugese and
Spanish at ASU and has found he can improve his _real life_ use of both
languages over the net. He now knows people in Portugal, Argentina, the
Philipines, and everywhere. (One of his Philipine net-buddies called at 2am
last night wondering where he'd been - the guy forgot my son works 3 12-hour
shifts over the weekend and isn't online that much then.) As I told the guy
yesterday, I came out here one night and found him running 6-8 different
programs all at one time.
But it's not all fun-and-games. During the school year he's a tutor for
several state run foster homes, and he's discovered the net is a great place
to get info and help for the kids. "Hey Dad, look at what I found! This web
site has the periodic tables - but they're laid out in Metal Man (comic book)
format. The kids will love this - and it'll help them learn some of their
elements/periodic tables for science." "Hey dad, you remember the one kid
that I told you about who's mother left him on the streets and the state
couldn't find his father? I was chatting with a guy in Chicago (where-ever)
last night that thinks he knows where to find the father and is going to
have him get in touch with the state." (Note: The kid is in the process of
getting back together with his father.)
No. I enjoyed my ST (and in many ways, probably always will), but I couldn't
go back to it."
Having known Lloyd for years (through the online services we've both
frequented), I decide to joke a bit with him:
"First off, tell your son and wife to go out and buy their own damned
computers!! (;^{> A man's computer is like... like... like his tool board,
or his sock drawer, or whatever it is that each of us has that, throughout
time, has given us the few moments of solitude that we need to keep from
killing those that, even though by our own choice, we are forced to live
with and remain cordial, if not nurturing, to. My wife doesn't use my
computer. In fact, she won't even step foot into my computer room. (I think
that it's because by doing so she can truthfully tell the FBI someday that
she had no idea what I had been doing... so much for blind love <g>)
What is this "_true_ internet access" you mentioned? Can I assume that you
are talking about using a dedicated ISP instead of accessing the 'net via
CIS or GEnie or Delphi? I could do that now with the ST. I have an ISP
just around the corne rthat can supply SLIP, CSLIP, and PPP connections. I'm
sure that I could get one of the available packages for the ST to access it
without problems but I simply don't have the time (or the extra $20.00 a
month) to play around with an ISP when I have only minimal needs for the 'net
at the moment. What I need from the net, be it newsgroups, FTP, or WWW, I
get quite easily and efficiently from a text-based browser provided by
another service. No, it's not glitzy... it doesn't show its importance by
monopolizing memory, hard drive space, or modem time with all of the pretty
pictures, but I get what I need, get it quickly, and without a lot of
overhead. I just wish I could also get it via CIS.
Your case is a bit different from mine: When my machine decided to take a
dirt-nap, I played Dr. Frankenstein and brought the sucker back to life. I
bought my dealer I bought my dealer's inventory of ST repair parts a while
back (got 'em for a song) and have been using them from time to time for my
own machines and those of a few friends. When the parts run out, sure, I'll
make a switch. But until then, I have to make do with what I've got
(probably that old Yankee ingenuity thing). You're probably thinking that
since I've used the ST for so long that I'm ignorant of the PC world... NOT.
Aside from being a production worker, I also handle all of my company's
computer system needs. This includes networking, software integration,
front-end interfaces, data conversion, and employee training. I'm well
versed in DOS, WINDOWS 3.1(1), and Win95.... I'm currently looking at setting
up online inventory control (both for customers and suppliers), and perhaps
a web page in the future. I'd probably like WIN95 a bit more if it didn't
do so many things to slow down the CPU (wouldn't you like to be able to turn
off that damned graphic during a file copy?).
Oh, and by the way, I doubt that it will be Apple that surprises the PC
world. More likely, it'll be someone new, innovative, and willing to take
the ultimate corporate risk: going in a different direction. Apple, while
still driven, is an old company as far as the computer industry goes. I keep
thinking about what Thomas Edison said about the invention of the light
bulb... 'If I had known anything about electricity, I wouldn't even have
tried it because I would have known that it wouldn't work'."
Lloyd decides to kid around a bit too:
"You must have one of those modern marriages. My wife is the old fashioned
type that believes in the old adage, 'What's mine is hers and what's hers is
hers'... [When I say _true_ internet access,] I'm talking about logging
onto STReport's web site and seeing all of the graphics, colors, hearing all
of the sound, and what ever other whiz-bangs Ralph has installed over night.
What about the many (majority?) of the sites that don't have a text only
option anymore?"
I reply:
"Quite true. That's why I usually go into the graphic-oriented areas. Using
Lynx, I get markers where there are graphics. If they look like something
that I'd be interested in, I download 'em. If not, I just zip right through
the page, selecting the links that I want/need to get where I'm going
(without the transfer time spent on the graphics). The only thing that I've
ever missed is being able to use forms, and I can do that quite easily now.
On occasion, I do use Netscape or Mosaic on one of the shop's PCs, but by and
large I prefer using Lynx."
Julian Church posts:
"I've just obtained a couple of old SCSI hard drives from a music friend from
inside some old Akai Samplers - they're fairly standard SCSI devices and I
think they require parity. I was hoping to use them to replace the drive in
my SH204 (apparently this is possible if you get the right kind of drive and
throw away the RLL drive and it's huge encoding circuit board and only use
the atari SCSI host adapter you'll find in there). Anyway I tried this and
it didn't work, assumedly due to the atari host adapter requiring parity free
devices ( I know the drives work, because they worked flawlessly when tested
with my Akai sampler). So it seems the way to go would be to replace the
Atari host adapter too.
So what I need is a bare host adapter circuit, that can fit inside the
SH204's huge but sturdy casing together with both the drives. I've only
ever seen the Link II for sale here in the UK, but I'm hoping you make
something that will make these parity drives talk Atari DMA. If so, do you
know where in the UK I could obtain one of these devices?"
Tom Harker, of ICD, tells Julian:
"Sure Julian, the Link 2 * does * talk DMA. The SCSI end plugs into the SCSI
bus. The other end is then DMA and plugs into the back of the ST DMA port.
If you want a PCB board that will fit inside the SH204 case, you could mount
the Link 2 inside and just have the one DMA plug showing on the outside or
you could get one of our AdSCSI Plus ST (may be too large), AdSCSI ST or
AdSCSI Micro boards but they are a bit harder to find since we don't make
them anymore. We do have a few in stock left over and you might give System
Solutions/Atari WorkShop a call since they order them from time to time. But
I do strongly recommend the Link 2 over all other host adapters. They are
more reliable (nearly bullet proof) and a bit faster than the rest."
Simon Churchill posts some sad news about an ST magazine:
"Well after the loss of Atari World and other magazines, the last UK Glossy
ST magazine has called it a day. ST Format has closed it door's on issue
86, after 7 year's the magazine has brought us many wonderful item's from
news, view's and it's cover disk program's. It is a great loss to our
community and to those who I know look for this mag around the world. I
can at least be happy as I now have the complete set of 86 issues. Apart
from BBS's, on-line area's and the smaller mini mag's, the Atari arena is
lossing it's grip, however with the Medusa Hades system reviewed in the mag
it's worth hunting for this collector's edition in your local shop's.
I would like to bid a fond farewell to a mag that has given me more than just
the Computer side, but one which has given hummer, Star Trek and personal
answer's to it's reader's. Which the likes of Intel and Micro$oft will
never achive in there computer system's."
Jon Sanford tells Simon:
"I haven't seen ST Format for a couple of issues. I often wondered why I was
willing to pay 8$ US whenever I found it. The answer is it had a good humor
and goofy attitude. I got a lot out of the period when they were being very
rude answering letters. Very funny..."
Well folks, that's about it for this week. Normally I don't like bringing up
my own posts because it seems kind of self-serving, but the exchanges with
Lloyd were quite refreshing to me and I thought you might enjoy excerpts.
Be sure to tune in again next week, same time, same station, and be ready to
listen to what they are saying when...
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